Where did the party go?
by FallOutBean
Summary: Benji invites Chloe, Aubrey and Stacie to a gig of his band "The Treblemakers". What seemed like a one-evening event quickly evolves into regular meetings and soon enough they all find themselves dealing with feelings; some easier to handle than others... Coming of age, coming outs and becoming something bigger, together / 00' AU /rated M for language and later adult-ish topics
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Still my first fanfic, but this is the **revised version of Ch1** (date: 25th of Nov. '19). I'll update them in the next weeks, since I was not that happy when I read them again. The **content is the same** though! The story is heavily influenced by my recalled love of the band Fall Out Boy.

I don't own anything concerning PP and FOB.

Leave a review. Or don't. Be happy and free :)

* * *

**Chapter 1 - Teen emo rock**

Benji got up and grabbed his bag while slowly descending the lecture hall. He waited at the entrance until the tall blonde came around and together, they made their way to the cafeteria. His head was a little fuzzy due to the lecture of Prof. Mitchell and his thoughts were only interrupted when Aubrey spoke up.

"So, planned anything special for the weekend?"

They got into the cafeteria which was bursting with hungry students. He snapped out of his thoughts. "Well, actually yes! The Treblemakers will rehearse all days, since we have the first outside-of-college gig at Jeffreys next week on friday!" he said proudly as they each grabbed a tray and waited in line. "Jesse got in touch with the bartender there and could arrange something with the big Jeffrey himself."

"That's really great for you!" Aubrey answered while taking something for lunch and followed Benji through the doors outside to a near-by table, where their friends already made themselves comfortable.

"Yeah, I'm super excited; this will be a real performance and not just some practise in the garage next to Paula's pizza".

Aubrey raised one of her brows. "Didn't you play for some college parties the last months?" She hoped that the conversations topic would change soon. She liked Benji and was excited for him, but she really didn't want to be forced to go to some concert of his rock band, which she fortunately only knew from stories. She loved music but had just little use for the rock genre, especially when it came to this teenage alternative stuff like Blink-182. She wondered already why Benji was a member. His keyboard skills were great of course, but he was actually a very … well, not-alternative guy and she thought they all might be a bit too old for corny love songs about break-ups and jealousy.

"Yeah we did…" His thoughts drifted away a bit. "It was great indeed, but… I don't know, it feels as if it was kind of a favor or something like that, since the college was involved. Next week is something we have arranged on our own, without help. Sorry, you gotta think I'm super lame talking" Aubrey chuckled as they came to their destined table and Stacie, who only heard his last words, moved a bit for him to sit down.

"We know your super lame Benji-Boy, the question is, what is it this time?" she teased him.

Aubrey sat down next to Chloe, who giggled at her remark. Benji stuck out his tongue in response and made a face, smiling though.

"His band plays at Jeffreys next week on Friday." Aubrey replied for him.

"Oh wow! Congratulations Ben!" Chloe shouted; she was - as always - very supportive of everything her friends were involved in. "We should totally go! Does everyone know about this? Do you have flyers or something?" She practically shouted at them before popping a fry in her mouth. "I couldn't go to the party last month since I broke up with…"

Her last words got quieter when Stacie interfered, "…with Tom, yes, we know. Chloe, I love you, but would you please shut it already? _You _broke up with _him_, not the other way around. He's a good guy, yes, and he'll be fine. You said you weren't happy, didn't you?"

Chloe nodded. "Sorry, I know I was a pain in the butt with this. I was unhappy and I don't regret it, but I just don't feel comfortable making people I like sad." Aubrey patted her back and looked to Stacie with meaningful eyes.

"No need to excuse" Stacie assured. "And I think for the sake of distraction alone we should definitely go out and watch the little show." A few seconds elapsed when she spoke up again. "Oh, hey Benji, isn't that cute mess of a cousin in your band as well?" she asked with a mischievous smile.

"I think she's not even a freshman, Stace!" Aubrey huffed out. Stacie chuckled. "Sorry _mom_, but I think it would be perfectly legal, wouldn't it, Ben?" she winked at the blond.

Benji wondered raising a brow. "Wouldn't you know? I thought you came to see us last month?"

Stacie's eyes went wide. "Oh, um… I was busy stud-..doing stuff. Sex stuff."

"Don't you mean study stuff for this big math exam of yours?" Chloe asked laughing and Stacie slapped her on the shoulder.

"Would you mind lowering your voice, you snitch?" She stage-whispered. "I have a reputation to maintain. No need to connect the status 'geek' with this" she said gesturing at her body and then looked around, looking for anyone who could have heard them.

"And you?" Benji looked blank at Aubrey, who just turned her eyes down, blushing. "Oh, come on, seriously? Chloe has an excuse with her training and all, but I gotta say I'm a little disappointed in you two" he pouted. "Now you're practically obliged to attend. And to answer your question Stacie; yes, she turned 18 a few months ago, so do whatever you have to" he answered and shook his head, grinning in disbelief.

"Ok-" Aubrey started "I'm sorry for not showing up. And while I'm probably not in the position to judge right now… are you really throwing your own cousin out there as prey for this devil in heels?" she poked into Stacie's side and the woman made a shocked face.

Chloe picked on her dish, happily watching the conversation before her take its course. She figured that Stacie was right, she could really use a distraction right now. She was sure Tom would be fine, it just nagged her that she hadn't done it sooner and lied to him for a few weeks before ending it. Above everything else, she was always up for handmade music. Tom could play the guitar a bit and this was something she always found sexy. Maybe a concert was something that could give her a new view on everything. Her friends were laughing about something at this point and Benji's voice stood out.

"Look, Emily is just my cousin, not my child. She can take care of herself." He held his hands up, shrugging. "Plus, you would be surprised, but she can be sly. Maybe she'll teach you a lesson or two" he explained to Stacie ominously.

"Oh, I like a good challenge" Stacie purred back "-on a consensual level of course" she added as she saw Aubrey starting to intervene.

"It's settled then, next Friday is party time" Chloe ended the conversation, picking up her tray.

Aubrey just nodded. _I knew the day would come I have to face this teen emo rock_ she thought to herself.

The days went by without any special events, apart from Prof. Mitchell announcing an upcoming exam in English literature, which gave Benji and Aubrey a damper. Aubrey already had a lot of stuff to learn for her law courses and Benji obviously was all hyped for friday and was not in the mood for something else than their rehearsals. Due to their different study orientations the four of them did not meet that much. Chloe and Stacie were busy on the science part of campus - Chloe partaking in a zoology practical and Stacie being in the physics lab. They all three met again on the day of the concert in Chloe's and Aubrey's apartment though.

Stacie stood in front of their apartment door and knocked, just to be greeted by Aubrey a few seconds later.

"You look good, Stace! Never took you for a rock-style girl?" Aubrey stated as the long-legged woman got in. Stacie wore a pair of dark leather pants and a black top, which emphasized her cleavage.

"Well thank you Bree, I can only pass back the compliment." Stacie replied, appreciating Aubrey's regular style for partying, which consisted of a skirt and a tight top. "Remember to call me if you wanna try something new" she whispered playfully and smirked her red lips.

Aubrey rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Thanks, I'm good. Too much up there, no offense." She gestured at Stacie's boobs while her friend entered the dorm. "Chloe is still in the bathroom, can I get you something to drink?"

"None taken and yes, I'd take a beer."

They made themselves comfortable on the couch and talked about everything and anything, when Chloe joined them. She coughed to get their attention. "Do you guys think this is too alternative? I feel a bit guilty that we've never been to see them before, and I want to make it up to Benji somehow." She wore a pair of tight jeans and a slightly worn out band shirt of Nirvana with a self-made cleavage, paired with a leather bracelet. Her red locks fell loose around her features.

"_Hello_ there! What's your name and what happened to Girly-Chloe?" Stacie chimed.

Aubrey grinned. "I think it looks cute. It's a bit unusual for you but nothing you can't wear"

"Alright then" Chloe got herself a beer and joined them until they all made their way to Jeffrey's an hour later. When they were in front of the doorway, they could already hear heavy music and some vocal shreds.

_"…where is your boy tonight? I hope he is a gentleman._

_And maybe he won't find out what I know,_

_you were the last good thing about this part of town."_

Aubrey opened the double-doors and held them open for her friends. _How do they say? Take one for the team._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N1: **Revised version (same content).

I do not own anything from PP or FOB. Leave a review. Or don't. Be happy and free :)

If there are errors concerning language/grammar, feel free to pm me :)

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Targets acquired**

Stacie was the first to enter the pub; immediately a wave of guitar music blasted towards them, loud but bearable. They had to fight their way through - the bar was stuffed with students holding their drinks or dancing. They didn't have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the band, their goal was to get somewhere they could breath and get settled.

Stacie led them through the crowd and eventually stopped; Chloe and Aubrey took a look past her and recognized a fellow classmate, calling herself Fat Amy, sitting on a barstool. It was a bit quieter in this area of the location - they could still see and hear everything of the concert but weren't forced to yell in each other's ears.

"Hey what's up, skinny girls?" Fat Amy waved at them and then turned her head to the people sitting next to her at the bar. "You there! Move!" she bellowed, and the group of rather young students looked at each other.

"Hey! We got here fir-" the guy could not finish his sentence as she interrupted him. "Do you really wanna start a fight with a three-time dingo fighting champion, tosser?" she yelled back and planted herself in front of him.

"Wow, calm down lady! Come on guys, let's get somewhere else…" he said to his group and they disappeared.

"Ha! That was too easy" Fat Amy said and implied for the girls to take their seats.

"Thanks? Amy, you didn't need to do that, we were late and he was right, they were here first and-" Chloe started, just to be interrupted by Amy as well.

"Come on, they we're just little freshmen. Now we can catch up a little and you don't need to stand the whole time, I mean that would be _my_ nightmare... hey CR! Get my mates something to drink!" she shouted to somewhere behind the counter. The three girls turned and faced the bartender wearing pink dyed bangs, tossing them a casual look. "What can I get you?"

Stacie ordered for them and took a seat next to Amy, maneuvering Aubrey between her and Chloe. The music was starting to fade, and the applause sounded through the pub. Fat Amy used the opportunity to speak up.

"So, it's nice to see ya, I didn't know you were fans of the Treblemakers… They're just two songs in and I have a feeling they'll be great tonight" she said, leaning over to face all three. Aubrey was starting to answer her as an amplified voice echoed through the room and they all turned their head.

"_Thank you so much! Wow, what a way to start the weekend, huh? Thanks for coming tonight, you're already the most awesome audience eveeeer…"_ A guy with short brown hair pointed at the crowd and was responded by applause and whistling. His guitar loosely dangled from his shoulders.

Aubrey looked at Chloe and Stacie with an astonishing expression on her face. "Why did Benji _never_ mentioned that their lead singer is like, the most handsome guy I've ever seen?" She turned her head again to face the stage.

"Maybe he wants to keep Jesse all to himself?" Fat Amy cood next to her ear.

"_I_ would know _that._" Aubrey answered without moving.

"_Alright, let's move on! The next song goes out to both Benji's and my ex. Brad and John, if you're out there somewhere… sorry, not sorry"_ he grinned and with his last words the next song started.

Aubrey made a bugged face. "Oh, come on, really? Why are the cute guys always playing for the other team?" she huffed out.

Stacie turned to her; a bit offended. "Okay, a," she showed her index finger, "you don't know that just because of one ex and b," her middle finger joined her first, "this is a cliché-ish bigoted perspective of you, Posen" and she held her fingers in front of Aubrey, waiting for a reaction.

The blonde exhaled. "Yeah yeah, you're right. I know it's a cliché… I'm just disappointed? I mean look at him!" Aubrey gestured to the stage and Stacie turned her head again.

"Well, just speak to him later, then you'll find out if- _oh my god_ is _this_ Benjis cousin?"

The lead singer was singing the pre-chorus;

"…_'cause every pane of glass that your pebbles tap_

_negates the pains I went through to avoid you…_

_and every little pat on the shoulder for attention_

_fails to mention I still hate you…"_,

when a tall brunette girl with a half-bun and dark eyes stepped a bit forward, stroking an e-guitar heavily to build up the song's tension. Due to her belly top, a bit of skin was visible every time she bobbed back and forth to the rhythm.

"I cannot remember her being _that_ hot! I wish _I_ was this guitar…" Stacie continued, biting her bottom lip.

"Calm down tiger, there are children here" Amy chuckled, nodding towards the nearby group of students which she chased away earlier.

"Fat Amy is right, Stacie. Didn't you see her last on the day Benji moved into his dorm at Barden? Let me do the math for you, I guess the age was _sixteen_!" Aubrey emphasized her last words, sounding like she would love to lecture Stacie about 'appropriate' adult behavior right now.

Stacie rolled her eyes, head still facing the stage so Aubrey couldn't see her reaction. "Well she's not anymore? Gimme a break, Posen. Chloe, would you mind telling Ms. Teacher here there's no need to play watchdog?" A few seconds elapsed. "Chloe?" Stacie asked again.

The bubbly redhead was unfamiliarly quiet for her taste and Stacie slowly turned to her left; eyes still fixated on the stage for as long as possible. When she was finally able to look away, she was met with a pair of knees behind Aubrey's face.

Apparently, Chloe had decided to climb on her seat and virtually stood halfway on her barstool, her gaze locked on something on the stage.

"What are you doing?" Aubrey shouted puzzled.

Chloe didn't answer her. Moments ago, when the song began, she casually scanned the stage, looking for Benji, who was positioned on the right side. She let her eyes wander. Next to Benji stood an Asian girl, a big bass guitar strapped around her neck, keeping a straight face while plucking the strings. Behind the singer, who was apparently named Jesse, a smoky-eyed brunette was playing guitar - probably the cousin, Emily.

The heavy sound from her instrument stood a bit in contrast to her appearance. With an attractive result though, Chloe had to admit. In Emily's background stood a large drum set. She could see trembling drums and cymbals swinging, accompanied with a crash every time a drumstick came down on the golden discs. There was, however, no proof of a drummer. At least it seemed so. Every now and then she caught a glimpse of a snap back and her curiosity made her climb her stool halfway.

The elevated position allowed her to see who the headpiece belonged to. It was a brown-haired girl, who was concentrating on every move her body was doing in order to keep the fast pace of the song.

_How can someone so small and cute be so skilled with this hell of a drum kit? _Chloe's eyes tracked every motion of the person that was responsible for her heart to escape its regular rhythm. Chunks of the song's lyrics made their way to her ears.

"_He took me down and said,_

'_Boys like you are overrated, so save your breath…'"_

Then a more familiar voice paired with tugging on her jeans retrieved her senses back to the present.

"Chloe!" Aubrey practically yelled to command her attention. Chloe snapped out of her state and climbed down to answer her.

"Hm?"

"What was that? You pretty much zoned out; everything alright?"

"Ye-" she squeaked and cleared her throat. "Yeah, of course. I just… wanted to see every band member. Who's banging my drums. The drums. On stage! Hm? Hey, what about the lead singer? He's… cute, isn't he Bree?" she tried to overact her actions and was greeted with a raised eyebrow from Aubrey.

"Would you please tell her that I don't need a stuffy old woman telling me how to behave? Stacie whined in their direction, eyes again on stage, but Aubrey ignored her. She knew better than to buy Chloe's rambling. She got up on her seat as well and peeked in the direction her best friend was taken in a few moments ago, and who was now all concentrated not to stare in any particular direction, sipping on her beer.

She peeked to the drum kit and shrugged. Nothing special caught her eyes - apart from the still so handsome lead singer in front of course - and she got back down.

"Well, they got themselves a dwarven drummer it seems" Aubrey chuckled. "How can someone so small be so noisy?"

"Oouuh!" Amy chanted. "Can I be there when you tell that Beca face to face? Please, it'll be hilarious! She's a short Tasmanian devil and will pose a challenge. Got it? _Pose_ a challenge? Pose-n? No? Okay…"

Stacie giggled about her pun, but Aubrey just rolled her eyes.

'_Beca', huh? _Chloe resisted the urge to get back up on the seat to watch named girl again and took a large gulp from her beer instead.

The song was finished by Benji's voice:

"_With every breath, I wish your body will be broken again, again…"_

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**A/N2: **Songs this chapter:

FOB - Chicago is so two years ago" (with slightly changed lyrics).

If this has not been clear enough, here's the bands composition:

Jesse: Lead vocals + guitar

Emily: Main guitar + second/background vocals

Benji: Piano + second/background vocals

Lilly: Bass guitar

Beca: Drums


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N1: **Revised version (same content).

I really had fun writing this, I hope you have fun reading it! Leave a review. Or don't. Be happy and free. :)

I don't own anything from PP or FOB.

Happy pride month everybody 8D

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**Chapter 3 - 3 vantage points**

Two songs later, Jesse announced they would have a break after the next song.

"_I hope you can all… dance, dance! Give it up, Becaaw"_ he signed behind him.

Amy let out a loud "Whooooh!" and held her beer up when fast beats followed Jesses order, and for a few seconds only drums and bass were sounding through the room. Then he joined in with the first lines:

"_She says she's no good… with words but I'm worse._

_Barely stuttered out a joke of a romantic stuck to my tongue…"_

Stacie nodded to the beat and turned to her friends. "I mean… musical _and personal_ taste aside - they're not that bad, aren't they? Why is this happening so late? This public thing I mean."

Amy answered her while watching the stage, "Jesse's a real perfectionist and he wanted to make a good impression in case some talent scouts are here or whatever. Something about to do this for a living, bla bla... I remember Beca being even grumpier than usual because of all the practice he made them do" she snorted, sipping her beer.

"Oh, yeah? How do you know her?" Chloe tried to conveniently request while looking to the stage, moving her head in a crooked manner to catch glimpses of the small drummer. She didn't notice that Stacie noticed though, arching an eyebrow. This was at least the fifth time Chloe behaved this way.

"I happen to be her roommate, best friend and secret dream of lonely nights" she blankly replied, whipping her hair back.

All three women just looked at her.

"What? ...Okay, the last part was a lie. She _knows_ she's not playing in my league… and the boys are already lining up I'm afraid" Amy winked exaggerated and their faces softened.

Stacie tilted her head back, facing Chloe past Aubrey. "Does someone else happen to have a small secret dream of lonely nights?" she purred quietly only for Chloe to hear, fishing for a reaction. Chloe acted as if she did not hear anything, but Stacie could swear that her skin shifted a little to match her hair color. _Interesting_.

The brunette whipped back forward. "Anyway. Practice really paid off I'd say. I think I'm gonna pay the Applebaum-clan a visit before they take off for their break. Who's coming with me?" She stood up, holding her drink. "Aubrey, you should talk to him to lose that frowning face" she said, tapping the blonde's nose with one finger. Aubrey ducked away, not answering.

"Your loss. Chloe? I'm pretty sure _someone_ could use a refreshment up there." She nodded towards the stage. "I for one will get this guitar chick something to drink." Stacie turned to the bar and talked to CR.

The current song echoed through the pub.

"_Why don't you show me the little bit of spine,_

_you've been saving for his mattress, love…"_

Chloe was torn between that stupid curiosity of hers and a sudden shyness that didn't suit her at all. She really wanted to have a proper look behind those drums… and she could always pretend to just say hello to Benji?

"Hey, get me two beer please?" Chloe shouted towards the bar, smiling at CR and Stacie.

"You go girl! To distraction!" Stacie endorsed her and they chinked their drinks, heading towards the stage while the last refrain played.

"_Dance, dance, we're falling apart to half time…"_

Aubrey watched them leave and was conflicted. Amy could see the wheels spinning in her head und leaned in. "You know, a little birdie told me he likes the red mountain dew… just in case you finally decide to take a shot, squib"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Aubrey snapped.

"C-O-W-A-" Amy began to spell out chanting.

"No way. I'm afraid I don't know this word in any language" Aubrey hissed and likewise turned to the bar, leaving a few moments later with two red cans.

_You're welcome, twig bitch_ Amy thought, smirking to herself as she watched the blonde departing.

* * *

Stacie and Chloe made their way through the crowd and waited for the song to end. The audience cheered when the last notes hit the room.

"_Ok thank you, see you in a few minutes" _Jesse said and turned the microphone off. Not long after that, the usual tape music came up and the crowd dispersed for the most part. Stacie turned to Chloe behind her.

"I think it's easier if you walk up there, not so much drunk students" she said, pointing in a direction near the drum set. "Have fu-un" she warbled and ditched her friend, walking up to Emily, who was extracting the guitar from herself, putting it on a stand.

There were no other people around, so when Stacie came closer, Emily looked up mischievously. "I was just starting to get jealous of Jesse who gets all the fans, but there you are at last, good-looking."

Stacie's tongue was tied for a second, she didn't expect _this_. "Well, I'm not the only one good looking it seems" She held up a coke for the younger girl. "What do you mean, there I am at last?"

Emily just took the can, put it to her mouth and swallowed slowly. Stacie watched her, and suddenly she felt as if thrown into a coke commercial from the 90's. Time stopped, it seemed. The younger girl's skin glistened, every muscle in her face working to take in the liquid and Stacie could swear that a bead of sweat slowly trickled down at the side of Emily's face, to the bottom of her neck. Her jaw fell open in slow motion.

Then, words reached her ears and retrieved her to reality.

"Hello? Hey! Shut your mouth, there's a bus coming!" the girl in front of her said.

"What?" _What the fuck was that? _Stacie quickly turned her head around - everything seemed perfectly normal.

"Everything alright? You look as if in trance." Emily chuckled, holding her drink.

"I'm, uh-" Stacie started, but got interrupted by the shriek of someone a few steps away.

"_-oice just so awesome. Maybe could sign here?"_ Some girls apparently wanted to get an autograph from Jesse, and one of them grabbed her shirt and showed him her cleavage.

"Wow, that's… something to look at." Emily mumbled, staring in Jesse's direction. "Apparently it was a great choice to come here for this gig. Everyone is so hot! Guys, Gals and everybody else!" Emily altered the pronunciation to make it rhyme. "A good time to be open for everything, don't you think Stacie?" she winked.

_What the hell is going on here? Why is she so… confident? Get a hold of yourself. _"It is indeed… Wait, you still know who I am?" Stacie managed to say, surprised that she was called by her name. _Okay, I can talk. That's a start._

"Of course; how could I forget Benji's _hot_ college friend. We did meet when he moved into his dorm! Me and my dad helped him because his parents had to work?" Emily answered.

"I know, I… just wouldn't have thought you'd remember. You're all grown up now, I see" Stacie smirked and obviously took a long view up and down Emily's statue. _Much better Conrad. This is my game after all._

"Well, it took you long enough to get up here. Too busy staring?" Emily shot back, lifting an eyebrow playfully.

Stacie was dumbfounded. She could not think of a good-enough answer and was more than happy to be rescued by a sudden cymbal crash going off. Stacie looked over and saw Chloe talking to the small female drummer, then her eyes went back to _Seductive-Emily_, only to see Benji standing behind her.

"Hey Stacie, you came! Great! Look, we'll have a break for a few minutes; what about getting all together after this? Ask Chloe and Aubrey, we could get a large table or something… did I hear Amy _whooping_ earlier as well?" Benji asked.

"You did." Stacie laughed. "And I have to say that you don't disappoint! The band I mean." She shot a quick glance to Emily, who watched her concentrated. She didn't however catch the small grin that was all over the young girl's face - when their eyes met, Emily was looking all seductive again. "So, I don't want to hold you back from your break, see you later." Stacie managed, feeling her self-confidence weaken again.

"I'd look forward to that" Emily responded, biting her lower lip.

Stacie just smiled, afraid of making things worse. She turned around and practically fled the scene. _Wow. You, Conrad, have just made a fool out of you._

When Stacie was out of earshot, Benji leaned to Emily. "Oh my god, did it work, Em? I think you just 'stacied' Stacie herself!" He said, barely able to hold in a laugh. He reached for his rear pocket and pulled out a 20 $ bill. "You've definitely earned it"

"Oh, I feel pity for her though. At one point she looked like a deer, staring into headlights" Emily replied giggling and took the money.

"Nah, she'll get over it. I think it's time to take some of her own medicine from time to time. And-" Benji announced, rubbing his hands, "tonight's not over yet! But don't be too hard on her, she's a nice girl after all."

"Can't argue with that. She really is smokin'" Emily replied.

"…seriously?"

"Sorry Ben, but hell yes. I wouldn't mind getting something else than just this short-term money." Emily said smirking, turning around to leave.

* * *

Aubrey made her way through the crowd towards the small stage. _Well played Posen, now what? Go over and ask 'Hey, are you like completely gay or is it worth a shot talking to you?' _Aubrey snorted about her own thoughts when a few women bumped into her on their way to the same direction she was heading. Drops of red liquid spilled over her left hand.

"Excuse me?" she shouted and followed them a few seconds later, while none of them reacted. _Okay, this is on._

Aubrey took a small step onto the wooden stage and positioned herself some footsteps beside those annoying girls and Jesse. She saw Benji in the corner of her eye and waved at him. He waved back quickly with a big smile on his face.

She could hear snippets of talk between the group next to her. _"O-M-G Jesse, your voice is just so awesome. Maybe could sign here?" _One of the girls grabbed her shirt and offered Jesse her cleavage while the other giggled and held up a sharpie.

"_Or you could just write your number down! But in case you need one for yourself…" _she continued, handing him a piece of paper with something written on it.

Aubrey was disgusted. When she saw Jesse laughing nervously and holding up his hands defeated, obviously overwhelmed by their dedication, she decided to step in. _You got this Posen._

"Hey Jesse, Benji asked me to get you something to drink" she casually mentioned, pushing the girls aside with her body.

"_What the hell, girl?" _one of them screamed while stumbling. She wanted to lash back but was held back by her friend. "_Call me!"_ was the last thing Aubrey heard.

"Uh, thanks?" Jesse turned his head to Benji, who smiled affirmatively. He took one of the cans. "You know Ben?"

Before Aubrey could answer, a bright noise was coming from the corner where the drum kit was located. They turned their heads irritated, but Aubrey decided not to let herself be distracted by this. "Yes, we're friends from college. English major. I'm Aubrey" she held her can up.

"Jesse" he grinned, taking a bow. He looked into her eyes while taking a gulp. "So um, have you, … I mean, how come I've never seen you before?"

"Good question" Aubrey stared back. _Maybe you think about an actual answer, idiot. _"I'm always busy with studying and so on, but I have to say that I regret not getting my priorities straight. You're all very talented!" _That's better._

"Thank you. I'm glad you came tonight then." He smiled back.

"Me too" Aubrey answered; her eyes locked into his. _Keep the conversation going._ "So, as much as those girls and I have nothing in common, I have to agree; you do sing pretty great. Do you have a singing education or…?"

Jesse chuckled a bit flattered. "No, actually, I think it's all about practice. Maybe I got a little lucky when nature distributed its goods." he shrugged his shoulders, trying to appear humble enough.

"You sure did." She thought of another intelligent thing to say, when Benji came over from the other side, putting one hand on Jesse's shoulder.

"Hey Aubrey, good to see you! I already met Stacie, it's nice you decided to visit us at last!"

"Hi Benji, you were awesome!" She waved at him, "…and I already admitted that it was definitely a mistake not to come around earlier" she answered, eyes still on Jesse.

Benji's eyes shortly varied between her and his band leader. "So…I just told Stacie - we'll get a large table when this is over; get together for a drink?"

"Okay, sounds good." Aubrey replied, keeping eye contact with Jesse. Benji however did not move and looked as if he was waiting for Aubrey to leave. "Oh, okay, I will see you guys later."

"With pleasure!" Jesse said smiling.

"Later!" Benji shouted and pulled his lead singer with him. Aubrey slowly went back to their seats, taking a sip from her can. _Urgh, really? Disgusting…_ The can was put on the nearest table and was forgotten before the show went on.

* * *

Chloe stood in front of the stage, being left alone by Stacie. _So much for going together_.

She went in the direction her friend pointed at and shortly found herself standing next to the drum kit. Beca was leaning forward, halfway under the snare drum, apparently looking for something.

"Hi!" Chloe shouted cheerfully, but there was no reaction. "Hell-o?" she asked again and Beca came up but didn't look at her. "HEY" she almost shouted and the small woman turned, but it shortly became clear that this was only by coincidence. Beca was about to stand up and when her eyes met Chloe, she squeaked, obviously startled by the woman's sudden presence.

Beca reached for her ears and pulled out two small earplugs, breathing irregular. "Wow, dude, you sure scared me"

"Oh my god, I am so sorry, that was not what I was looking for" Chloe apologized grinning, her hands held up defensively.

"What were you looking for then?" Beca asked suspiciously, looking up and down the redhead. "Hey, you probably want to see Jesse; he's dead ahead. Although it could be a bit crowded, it seems as if he has a few admirers already" she peeked through her set up in Jesse's direction.

While Beca was talking, Chloe took the opportunity to cast a glance over the short woman. She was even cuter from up close; wearing loose jeans, a black Santa Cruz t-shirt and a plain green snap back backwards. Her hair fell onto her shoulders from under her hat and she was sweating.

"Why would I want to see him? Actually, I thought _you_ could need a refreshment" Chloe answered smiling, unconsciously citing Stacie. She held out one of her beers towards Beca, who jerked an eyebrow.

"Okay… usually the ladies are all head over heels for Mr. Handsome there, _your voice is so nice; did you learn how to sing? what's your number _and stuff like that" Beca mimicked the typical fan girl and Chloe snickered. "I'm just the drummer" she shrugged and looked at the bottle from Chloe. "Oh sorry, I don't drink"

Chloe looked puzzled when Beca refused. "What, like ever?" _Yes, like ever. Smooth question, Beale. Not._

"No, like alcohol" Beca chuckled. "But thanks anyway, I'm good" she grabbed a water bottle from the ground next to the base drum and downed it.

"Oh, okay, sorry again. I feel kind of stupid now… You're really good with all this I mean. This is kind of a setup. You should be getting more attention if you asked me." She winked at Beca.

"Then maybe I should ask you more often…?"

"Oh, I'm Chl-" Chloe shifted while she began to answer. Then she became aware that whatever she leaned against was yielding and she tumbled a few steps to recover herself, accompanied by a loud crash from the cymbal.

Beca jumped around a drum and held out a hand. "Wow, are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?"

"I'm fine, thanks" Chloe managed to say, blushing. She patted her jeans. "Gosh, usually I'm not that clumsy" she mumbled embarrassed.

"Usually I don't have such pretty visitors, so I think we're even?" Beca answered, scared of her own boldness. _Where did _that_ come from, Mitchell? Must be the adrenaline._

"I think I can live with that." Chloe replied smiling.

"So, about this… refreshment?"

"Oh, I'm sure CR has something else for me to take care of you" Chloe replied, not catching the slight innuendo of her own answer.

Beca could feel her neck and face redden and grabbed a small towel from her seat. "Okay?" She saw Benji and Jesse leaving and decided to use that opportunity to cool down. "Listen, I gotta gay-" Her eyes widened. "GO**! **Go, have a break… see you around" She turned and quickly left. _Great, you just won the idiot-of-the-evening-award! Congratulation. Here's hoping to never see her again._

Chloe had trouble not to laugh out loud. This was by far the cutest awkward thing she had ever seen.

"I'm Chloe, by the way" she shouted after Beca, suddenly remembering that she didn't answer the question. When she turned to go back, she felt cold against her stomach. She looked down and saw that more or less half a beer somehow must have spilled on her when she almost fell a few seconds earlier. _Talk about the pot calling the kettle black._

* * *

**A/N2: **Song: FOB - Dance, dance


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N1: **Revised version (same content)

It tooka while since I hadto write this in secret, but I finally did it :) Leave a review. Or don't. Be happy and free. Again, happy pride month :)

Don't own anything PP or FOB related.

* * *

**Chapter 4 - Table Talk pt. 1**

Gradually, every Treblemaker gathered in the _backstage_ _room_. While Jeffrey's was not a large location, it was built out to host live bands from time to time. The former storage room was not big, but it held a couch, a chair, a table and a small refrigerator. Additionally, a sink was installed in the corner.

Lilly was the first one to arrive and jumped on the sofa after grabbing a bottle from the fridge. She enjoyed the silence and relaxed, putting her feet up the table. Emily entered a few minutes later and she looked up.

"Hey. Acoustics could be better" Lilly said. "I once played in a war bunker 1500 feet under with better sound."

Emily frowned but knew better than to ask about her statement. "…okay? I think it's good… nothing compared to this BA party a few weeks ago, but what can challenge an opportunity to play open air."

She let herself fall next to Lilly and closed her eyes to calm down. Her heart was still pounding a bit faster than usual. The game with Stacie was fun, but it took a lot of her courage to go through with it she had to admit. She was not as innocent as everybody thought but was never this sly on purpose.

The door opened and Benji and Jesse poured in. Benji got down next to Emily and Jesse launched himself into the chair, exhaling loudly. "Guys, this was aaaawesome. They love us!" he yelled, his eyes beaming. He threw his legs over an armchair and high-fived Benji.

Beca entered in a hurry a few seconds later, her face pale. She went straight to the sink and began to wash herself.

"Everything alright, Bec? You look horrible" Emily asked her, eyebrows raised.

"I'm g-" Beca breathed in and out a few times, like she was afraid to let other words than intended slip again. "'m good. Just… sweaty" She put her hat down, ruffled her hair and continued with the cat bath.

"No wonder, you really did great back there Bec!" Jesse turned his head to her, leaning his back in the chair. "You know, I think on the last song at this point where it goes-" he made some beat noises with his mouth, which didn't really have anything in common with beatboxing "-we maybe could bring some variation, like-" he continued to make some noises till Beca turned towards him, water dropping from her face.

"Dude, the gig isn't even over; let's finish tonight and _I_ think about this next week, ok? I'm really not in the mood doing this right now. And I do that literally every day in case you forgot."

"Ok, ok, sorry. I'm just euphoric, all pumped up, you know me!"

"Yeah, unfortunately I do."

"Becaaaaww" Jesse pouted. "What happened back there, anyway? It looked like someone fell into your kit."

"…maybe" Beca scoffed between splashing water.

"I saw some red-haired girl paying her a visit!" Emily stage-whispered to Jesse, grinning.

"Really? Stepping up with your womanizer game?" Jesse wiggled his eyebrows and turned to Beca again.

"Shut up. If anything, I made a fool of myself so can we just drop it?"

"Alright, calm down. Just… happy for you" he said smiling, rewarded by Beca just rolling her eyes. "So, Ben-ja-min! Who is this Aubrey-Girl you never told me about?"

Benji was deep in thoughts and turned to him. "Hm? Oh, she's just a college mate, we're in the same English course." They were actually pretty good friends, but he chose to play it down.

"She is beautiful."

Benji just nodded his head. "Yup. Well, she and the others couldn't make it to our last performances. They're always busy with something, so I don't expect them to be around much." He shrugged and fetched his phone to check it for messages.

"I'm sure we can change that. Did you see how she looked at me?" Jesse asked a bit dreamy.

Benji shot him a side glance. "Nope. Anyways, Lilly we need to move your stuff a bit, it's too near to… " he started a conversation with the bass player about the location of their instruments and they soon were deep into discussion. His hands were fiddling with the label of his drink while talking to Lilly, his facial features hardened. It was obvious that he wanted to change the subject, but Jesse ignored it.

Beca's washing noises stopped and she took a towel and dried herself. When she joined the others, she shoved her knuckles on Jesse's head while passing him.

"Ouch, what was that for?"

"You know, just for being so full of yourself" she grinned.

"I stuff you in the base drum, Mitchell" he retorted, pleased to see the drummer relaxing again.

They continued their break for a few more minutes before heading out for the second part of the evening.

* * *

Aubrey arrived at the bar and joined Amy, who was still sitting there alone. "So, how did it go? Saw you shoving those bitches, nice move!" Amy complimented her.

Aubrey chuckled a bit. "You gotta do, what you gotta do. Thank you by the way" She took her seat and ordered something new, she definitely had to wash her mouth after this red drink from kindergarten-hell.

"What for?"

"For making me get up there. Why does he drink this by the way? It tastes awful…"

"Sweet Jesus, look at them" Amy laughed at the sight of their friends. Chloe and Stacie arrived pretty much simultaneously, both having a long face. Stacie looked as if someone slapped her and Chloe had dark stains on her shirt.

"What happened to you?" Aubrey asked staggered. Chloe and Stacie looked at each other and recognized their misery. For a few seconds they let their eyes roam over each other and none of them talked, but then they burst out with laughter and joined the others.

"I definitely don't wanna talk about it. Let's just say this did not play out as I thought it would" Stacie waved her hand down, a beaten smile on her face.

"Got a cold-shoulder, Conrad?"

"No, I… not really? Actually, I did not. It was confusing. But it seems as if Chloe got a cold belly" Stacie poked in Chloe's stomach, grinning. "What happened back there?"

Chloe looked around and whispered flushing. "I practically fell into the drum kit."

A loud laughter escaped her friends. "That was you? I just heard the sound but wouldn't have imagined something like that… did you get hurt?" Aubrey put her hand soothingly on Chloe's knee and nudged Amy, who was still laughing.

"No, it was just embarrassing. Like a lot."

"Told ya, shorty can be frightening" Amy commented.

Chloe gave her a skeptical look. "Not the first word I would use, but I fear it was not my smoothest move. What about you Aubrey, did you talk to him?"

"I did." She looked down and adjusted herself in her seat. "Well, I did not ask him out or anything but I'm almost sure there might be a chance to do this later."

When Chloe gave her a wondering look, Stacie continued. "We're meeting them after the show. Didn't Ben speak to you? Oh, I forgot, you were busy falling" Stacie chuckled. "Sorry."

"Ha-ha." Chloe deadpanned. The thought of meeting them later made her a bit nervous, not that she would say that. This was either going to be a chance to make up for her clumsiness or for continuing it. Plus, Beca left really embarrassed. Hopefully she would join them anyway and could just forget about this incident.

* * *

The second part began and when Emily hit the first chords of the next song, Stacie jumped from her stool. "So! What about dancing a bit? My butt is going to get flat if we continue just sitting here the whole night!"

"I'm in, girl!" Amy cheered and stood up, waiting eagerly for the others.

"Oh, I don't know, look at them, they're all tipsy and it's hot and you have to look out not to bump into everyone…" Aubrey whined; her opinion of the Treblemakers and the music did lightly improve due to Jesse, but she was still not convinced of this whole situation.

"That's the point of dancing in a crowd, Ms. Teacher"

"I told you this won't be a thing Stacie, stop it!"

Chloe smirked at their friends shouting and simply stated "Well, I think I'm going, too. Come on, Aubrey, this will be fun!" With this, she got up and stood beside Stacie and Amy.

"_Turn off the lights and turn off the shyness,_

'_cause all of our moves make up for the silence…_

_and oh, the way your make-up stains my pillowcase_

_like I'll never be the same…"_

"Listen to him, turn off the shyness and move your slim booty, squib!" Amy shouted. Aubrey's jaw fell in shock and Amy knew she pushed her button again.

Aubrey grimly got up, taking her bag and moving past the others into the crowd. "Let's go!"

* * *

The Trebles were dismissed with loud cheering. It took them a while to pack every instrument and cable and the four women used the time to catch up with Amy and talked about anything and everything, until Benji arrived at the bar.

"Hey guys, hey Amy! We're finally ready. There's a table CR kept free for us, you coming?" He gestured in a direction, his impression groggy, but happy.

They got up and followed Benji to their table. It was in a corner, surrounded by two wooden walls, decorated with framed pictures of the owner Jeffrey with guests and scenes from the pub. Jesse, Emily and Lilly had already made themselves comfortable and greeted everyone. Benji maneuvered himself in the corner next to Jesse, leaving it to Amy, Aubrey, Stacie and Chloe to sit next to each other, across Jesse and Emily on the bench. Lilly sat on a bar stool, watching them all without expression.

A momentary silence fell over the table, until CR's voice made everyone's head turn. "Hey y'all, what's your poison? Jeffrey is buying a round." When everyone had placed their order, CR disappeared and Benji introduced his college friends to everyone, followed by loose chatter.

* * *

Jesse and Benji we're right in the middle of telling a story from another performance, when Beca made her way to the group after finishing a conversation with another guest. She let herself fall next to Emily and was shortly greeted by the table, then they all continued to listen to the boys. Her clothes were different; the t-shirt was replaced by a green element tank top and the snapback was gone, brown and curly hair was hanging from her head, still a bit damp. She didn't recognize where everyone was seated until she looked up, her eyes meeting Chloe's.

_Oh, god no. Right in front of me?_

Beca quickly looked away and leaned back, trying to mask her embarrassment by inquiring CR's whereabouts. When she found her, she gestured and ordered, what gave her a few moments before facing the woman across her.

"Hi there!" Chloe said with a voice that was only for Beca to hear, the group still following along some story. She gave Beca a warm smile; the toned arms and biceps of the short one in front of her alone made her decide that she certainly wanted to make up for her past clumsiness.

"Hey." Beca's eyes shot around as if they couldn't decide if they should go after these blue orb-like eyes, the self-made cleavage of Chloe's top, or the table, which was suddenly very interesting as well. Has this beer stain always been there?

"I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. Or break you kit."

"What? No, there's nothing to be sorry about. Can we… just forget it? Like forever?" Beca managed to answer, a small grin escaping her face.

"Deal. If we add my failing body control to the list?"

Beca snorted but gave her an assuring nod. "My lips are sealed." She made a zipping gesture over her lips. "Although I'm afraid your actions were already noticed by hawk eye here" She whispered and pointed to Emily with her thumb. "I don't know if they can drop it in the near future."

Chloe laughed, relieved that they weren't stuck with the former awkwardness. "Yeah, I also might have told the girls. Well, my wet shirt didn't go without notice."

"What wet shirt?" Beca raised her brows amused.

_Oh great._ She realized that Beca didn't noticed any of that. "Uh, let's just forgot about it… forever" she winked, imitating Beca.

Even if she wanted, Beca couldn't have prevented that smile that escaped her expression while looking at the woman in front of her. Chloe had something that was pulling her in and she made some mental notes for possible lyrics in the future. And d_on't forget about crushing for a potential straight, already taken or out-of-your-league girl, Mitchell. You know how that ends._

"I would say 'to forgetting', but that doesn't seem fitting" Beca said, lifting her glass.

"To making new memories?" Chloe suggested smiling.

"I'm fine with that."

They toasted and Chloe nodded to the stage. "So, that was a lot of stuff up there, where do you put all this?"

"I actually own a van for occasions like this, it's old and almost falls into pieces, but it works. I got it to transport my kit, but there's still a bit of space for a few amplifiers and Benji's keyboard, so most of our gear is in there."

"But you don't take all this home, do you?" Chloe asked curiously.

"Apart from the practically non-existing space in our dorm, Amy would strangle me in my sleep" Beca answered, which made Chloe giggle lightly. She didn't know Amy very well, but it seemed as if that would be something she was capable of. At least to a certain extent.

"We have rented a garage next to Paula's, where Jesse is working. She had no use for it, and it fits our needs, especially because there's no one living to it next door. Well, apart from the restaurant."

"Oh, I remember, Benji told us something like this. And how many clichés of a college rock band are you going to cover this semester?" Chloe teased, tilting her head a bit sideways.

Beca smirked, knowing that they already fulfilled a few clichés unintentionally. "Well, if you're going to break my heart, there's a pretty high chance of us writing a song about it." The wink left her face and the words tumbled out of her mouth before thinking; it was _the_ first thing that came to her mind. A lot of their songs had this topic (thanks to Benji and Jesse) after all.

Chloe smiled mischieviously, "I'm sure there are a few other things you could make songs about" she replied, lifting her bottle to drink, when she felt a lower leg stroking her own on the right. Her eyes fell to Beca's, which were looking back at her but showed no sign of connection to whatever happened down there. Then she heard a small coughing.

"Sorry." Emily mumbled in her direction and the stroking on Chloe's leg stopped. A few seconds later, Stacie tensed shortly beside her. _Interesting._

"So, I assume there's a lot of free pizza in the Treble HQ's?" Chloe asked to carry on with the conversation.

"Huh?" Beca frowned. "Oh, because of Pau-, yeah, not as much as we would like, but there's some from time to time, depending on how Jesse behaved in his shift." They continued with the usual conversation about toppings and if pineapple on pizza were okay or a devil incarnate.

They settled quickly with accepting pineapple and hating anchovies.

* * *

Sitting next to Beca, Emily noticed Benji looking urgently to her while tipping his head in Stacie's direction, his lips formed to the slightest smirk. She knew he was expecting some more involvement on her side for their bet and she swallowed her nervousness. She enjoyed the earlier conversation with Stacie and had been serious when she said she would like to get something else than money for this. Emily waited for everyone being engaged in a conversation and turned to the brunette towards her.

"You looked a bit out of breath earlier, did you have a chance to recover?" she asked, looking at her intensively.

"Hm? Why should I-" Stacie responded, than it struck her that Emily was up to play _this_ game again. "…-yes, I did. I had quiet to soothing view I have to say"

"Glad that I could be of service" Emily winked; her head supported by her arm which was set on the table. She lifted her right leg in attempt to find Stacie's, when she realized that she just started playing footsie with Chloe.

She swallowed and mumbled a small "Sorry" in the redhead's direction and adjusted her leg to the left, where it finally met Stacie's. The brunette was still surprised by the unexpected touch and tensed when she felt a stroke from her ankle to her knee.

Emily took a quick look to Benji, who was apparently following all this, a big grin on his face.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" she innocently asked Stacie.

"Y-Yes?" Stacie answered, feeling Emily's leg still on her.

"What do you think about this top, I mean, is it too 90's? Would you say that I can wear it this short? I'm not sure about the length though, does it look cheap?" While Emily talked, she fumbled with the hem of her belly top, casually lifting it a bit from time to time, revealing her abs.

Stacie's eyes were glued on Emily's stomach and bellybutton, which danced around in front of her. The view and the weight on her calf made her head spin a bit and her jaw fell slowly again. She didn't notice that she unconsciously leaned forward, presenting a view of her cleavage, which the guitar player secretly took some advantage of.

Stacie closed her eyes tightly to think clear again. _I can do forward as well Ms. Applebaum._

"I think…" she took a sip of her drink, "…that it looks…" and moved her bottle to fake-inspect the label, followed by locking her eyes on Emily's "…delicious." She slowly pronounced every syllable of the last word.

The younger one unclasped her top and raised one eyebrow. "I appreciate the honest answer." In the corner of her eye she could see Benji was involved in a talk with Jesse, Aubrey and Amy and she decided that he got enough entertainment. She let go of Stacie's leg and stood up.

"I'm afraid I have to excuse myself for a moment-" with a suggestive look to Stacie she added "…or two." Emily squeezed past Beca who was obviously bugged by the interruption.

"Hey, keep calm, not enough space for a baby horse like you here!"

"Sorry Becs, love you" Emily ruffled Beca's hair and disappeared.

She made her way through the pub to the bathrooms, turning into the small corridor past the old non-functional cigarette automat and settled in the corner next to the chewing gum dispenser. _What a TV move. I bet this doesn't even work._

She leaned against the wall, looking around while waiting. After a few minutes she started to count the colorful, big round sweets that were locked in the orb probably years now, when a voice reached her ear.

"Hey, stranger."

* * *

**A/N2:** FOB - Of all the gin joints in all the world


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N1: **Revised version (same content)

Thank you for your reviews!

Don't own anything PP or song-related. Leave a review. Or don't. Be happy and free.

**TW: Short attempted assault and mild homophobic slurs.**

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Table Talk pt. 2**

"…and then, this guy just turned and threw up behind the fence!" Jesse blurted, clapping his hands on the table and Aubrey started laughing loud.

"Oh my god, this is hilarious! Benji why didn't you tell us this; I mean this must have been an epic party!" she asked the piano player, who was keeping eye contact with his cousin, making awkward grinning faces.

"Huh?" He turned his head and sipped on his straw.

"The BA party!"

"Oh, yeah ehm, it was cool I think!"

"Ben, you can't continue to keep things like that for yourself, I mean we meet for lunch like almost every day and before tonight I didn't even know you had such a good looking man on the front line" She made eye contact to Jesse, who grinned goofily.

"How much did you drink Aubrey?" Benji asked laughing.

"Enough to be not _that_ offended by your question." She nudged him on his shoulder and giggled unusually ridiculous.

"Oh, you know what we should do Aubrey? We should all do some bonding-shots with our new friends!" He put an arm around Benji's shoulders and shook him a bit, earning a grumpy sound.

"Did I hear bonding-shots?" Amy asked, looking up from her phone. "I'm in! CR!" she shouted through the room, "Would you get us some old turkey, you wonderful human being?"

The barkeeper just nodded emotionless from the other side of the room.

Next to Jesse, Emily got up and squeezed past Beca, who had to take her legs up to the bench to make room for the girl. "Hey, keep calm, not enough space for a baby horse like you here!"

"Sorry Becs, love you" Emily ruffled Beca's hair and disappeared.

"Yeah, yeah" Beca shouted after her, straightening her hairstyle and turned back to Chloe.

"Baby horse?" Chloe asked amused.

Beca grinned and waved her hand. "Just a nickname, she used it for a basketball match once and it got kind of stuck. I mean, you have to admit it fits"

"It is comprehensible I think." Chloe laughed. "What's your name?"

"Nice try. This information has got to be _earned_!"

CR arrived with a tray and filled shot glasses. "Ok, who's in?" No one paid attention to them and they rolled their eyes. "... you know what, just help yourself." They put the tray on the table, drawing a few lines on Jesse's coaster.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Beca mumbled, when she saw the piled tray.

"Okay folks! Bonding time!" Jesse shouted, leaning over the table and handing a shot to everyone except Beca. He raised his shot and put a hand on his breast. "To our new friends and supporters, who will from now on follow us through the darkest times, the deepest forests and the roughest seas-"

"Someone's getting a bit dramatic… one, two, three, _go_!" Amy cut in and downed her drink, followed by the rest of the table. Jesse pouted a bit but followed the example of the group; joining the parade of shaking bodies and scrunched faces which were made while accepting the strong drink.

"One down, one to go! CR you angel with pink hair, give us more!" Amy shouted.

* * *

"Hey, stranger"

Emily lifted her eyes from the dispenser. She actually expected Stacie, but the voice did not at all resemble the attractive brunette. Instead, a guy approached her; tall, muscular, his light blonde hair with an undercut strongly parted sideways. His eyes screened her, moving up and down body and a grotesque smile formed on his face.

"Who are _you_ waiting for, babe?"

"Excuse me?" she asked, feeling a knot forming in her stomach when she heard the pet name she didn't ask for.

"Come on," he grinned and hiccupped "apretty girl like you doesn't justschill here alone. D'you wait for your boyfriend?" he carried on, gesturing with a bottle in his left hand. His voice was dosed with alcohol.

"Um, yeah, he's in the bathroom and will come back soon" she agreed with him, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she knew this was not enough to come up with.

"S-Sure. Until then we could have agood t-time, whadaya say?" He stretched his biceps and Emily had a hard time not to flinch. _How ridiculous. _

Her eyes scanned the corridor for an opportunity to slip away and get back to her group. This jock stood right in the middle and the possibility of him to just snatch her was painfully high, fueled by his momentary drunken state. The realization that she was kind of trapped here hit her and so she just stared blankly on the floor, hoping that something would happen.

"Hey, look a'me! You think I'm not good enough?" He inspected her face. "Ooh, you're that guitar chick! You're with those f-faggots!" He approached her slowly and Emily leaned herself into the wall, ready to fight her way back if necessary. Before he even got close enough for anything, another voice came up behind him.

"Hey douchebag! _You_ weren't invited."

He turned his head surprised and an elbow landed in his face. A groaning sound left him when he fell on the floor and blacked out.

"Wanna get out of here?" Stacie asked and held out a hand. Emily's eyes switched between the figure on the ground and Stacie, one hand on the hips and the other hand reaching out to her. _This is definitely a turn on._

She climbed over the human pile of misery and took Stacie's hand, nodding gladly.

* * *

Half an hour later, Beca and Jesse crossed the pub and turned in the small corridor.

"…weally enjoy this, I mean, 'part from the beautiful audience! I woul- hmpf" a muffled sound left his mouth. "Woah, who in the world needs 'ose anymore and hangs'em right in the way?" He rubbed the spot on his shoulders where he practically ran into the cigarette automat and cursed.

Beca cackled shortly. "You should stop daydreaming and keep an eye on your feet instead. Especially after those-" she made air quotes "-_bonding shots_ you insisted everyone should do" she said, back-slapping him. "Again... and again."

"Hey, I didn't get any sign of'em not wanning to bond" he giggled, his face and neck heated up from alcohol.

_Okay, we should really get going soon; I have a feeling he'll call tomorrow morning way too early. _She softly shoved him in their desired direction. They rounded the next corner and stopped in front of the men's room.

"Ok, big boy, I'll let you do your thing and we'll meet up again, okay?" When Jesse entered the bathroom, Beca realized that she stepped in a small puddle of what was apparently beer, judging from the bottle lying on the ground not far away behind the chewing gum dispenser. She took it and threw it in the nearest trashcan. Moments later she opened the door leading to the ladies' room.

Emily was pushed up against the wall of the closed bathroom stall, her hands clutching on Stacie's neck. Her breath was flat and came out in small huffs as Stacie's mouth wandered around her throat. She let her hands travel down to find Stacie's hips, which she pulled against her body. The older one looked up in delight and Emily used the movement to bring their lips together again, deepening the kiss. A small moan escaped one of them as they heard the door open, together with a quiet voice singing and humming.

"_I met a fox the other day…_

_she came up to stage and asked me if I wanted to play…_

_maybe I want to take her home…_

_hm hm hm hm monochrome…"_

They froze. Emily immediately recognized Beca's voice and couldn't stop a big grin, which broke their kiss. Stacie stayed just inches away from Emily's face and quickly laid a finger on her lips to shush her. Footsteps came closer and the stall next door was opened, accompanied by further humming. Stacie couldn't help but also grin and it cost her a lot of self-control not to laugh out loud about the absurdity of the situation.

The next minutes felt like years; they could easily follow the acoustic of Beca's actions. Emily decided to test the self-control of her partner in crime and lingered at Stacie's belly with her fingers, tracing the hem of her pants with a dip from time to time. Stacie had to repress a squeal and shoved the younger one's hands away, only to find them again scratching along her thighs. She grabbed Emily's wrists and pushed them next to her head while shooting a daring look to those big brown eyes. The little impact of her hands on the wooden wall was enough to stop the sounds from the next stall.

Seconds of unpleasant silence elapsed. When Beca heard a thud next to her she peaked under the small wall separating the cabins and recognized Emily's shoes. A shiver of embarrassment jolted through her then, as she obviously caught her band partner with someone in the act.

_Wait a moment, that leggy friend of Chloe got up just moments after Em… what the…? _She slowly bent over again and examined the other pair of shoes, only to get her suspicion confirmed. _How did she do that?! She really has some game. Okay Mitchell, just play cool. This _has_ to be more awkward for them then it is for you._

„I'm-" a cough, "... just gonna pretend that I didn't disturb… whatever you do" she deadpanned and continued her business as usual; got out and took her time to wash and dry her hands.

A small grin appeared on her face as she listened for any noise testifying the presence of the two women. It was dead silent. "Make good choices" she chanted, as she left the room.

The door snapped shut and Stacie let out a breath. "That was… fun. It's been a long time since I hid in the bathrooms for a quick make out session." She still had her hands on Emily's wrists at the wall and looked down to the body in front of her. "Not as bad as I remember" she winked.

"There I have to agree with you…" Emily answered, granting herself a view on Stacie's low-cut neckline. "But as much fun this is here, don't you think it would be a… _good choice…_ to change the location? I would really appreciate your opinion on some other clothing of mine" Emily asked, her voice almost a whisper.

Stacie swallowed visibly. _Is she seriously proposing what I think she is? Benji is going to kill me. Should I care about this? She's just as much of a player as I am. Stop being miserable._

Emily could see Stacie's conflict and enjoyed every second of it. Her nervousness from earlier felt years ago and she loved being in this kind of control now. Leaning to Stacie's ear, she whispered. "I do recall having our place all to myself this weekend."

Her lips brushed quickly over Stacie's earlobe and the woman could only whimper, feeling her legs easing lightly. Stacie managed a throaty hum and nodded, before both left the bathroom.

* * *

Beca made a beeline to the main room, hoping Jesse was already back. She didn't want to risk meeting Emily and Stacie again; it took all her inner strength to maintain a cool façade while being in the restrooms. Now she just wanted to escape. She was not prude or insecure, but an expert in making a fool of herself. _As already proven._

It was late and the pub was not as crowded as it used to be a few hours ago. She spotted Jesse sitting at their table again, gesturing wildly and Beca was glad that she wasn't forced to go back and look after him. It was clearly time for him and maybe everyone else to fall into bed.

"Becaaaaaw there you are! You're the coooolest! Isn't she? You should also drink an' bond with'e new friends" He held a shot glass in her direction. Amy joined him. "Yeah shorty! Just one!"

Beca sighed. _Always a delight dealing with hungover Amy and Jesse. _"Dude! I said no more drinks for you! Quit ordering!" Beca shouted back, half serious, half laughing. Drunk-Jesse was kind of adorable. Years ago, he might have been her type. But then again, he never was actually.

She scanned the table, looking at her group. Lilly just held up a bottle of _something?_ and nodded, obviously enjoying herself. At least that was what Beca thought. Aubrey was laughing at Jesse; she was pretty drunk and like, totally head over heels for him. Benji looked grumpy. He used his straw to run random patterns in his drink and his eyes flickered between Jesse and Aubrey. Beca's view landed on Chloe who smiled genuinely at her.

"I have to agree with him though, you're totally _the coooolest_." Chloe winked and shoved Beca's glass in her direction. "Although I did participate a little bit in this drink-bonding-stuff, I defended _this_ _with my life_. Amy was on the verge of mixing it with some stuff she snitched from CR I think."

"Well, then I think you deserve a reward for your selfless actions, _Private Chloe_"

"Just a Private? I thought you would rank me higher" Chloe pouted, obviously at least tipsy.

Beca couldn't repress a grin and thought of a good comeback, when Jesse raised his voice again. It sounded a pitch higher than usual. "Uh, uh, Becaaw! I 'otally invited them t'our next practice, they're our lucky stars!" He made a large gesture and almost knocked a bottle over.

"Hey buddy, get a hold of yourself!" Benji hissed and put his hand on Jesse's arm protectively, not at all happy about his drunk friend.

"Sorry, Benni…"

He rolled his eyes and took out his phone, tapping rapidly over the buttons.

_Benji [01:25]: Where r u Em? U ok?_

Beca leaned over the table and tried to get the attention of her band leader. "See, then I'm sure we'll see them again soon! But right now, it's time for us to head home!" She rewarded herself with moans and refusal from most of the table.

Benji supported her. "I agree! It's late and CR will probably kick us out every moment…" he stood up and pushed himself past Amy to get to Jesse heaving him up.

"Shorty you'll have to carry me home, everything is turning!" Amy got up and moved as if she was fainting, but as nobody took her seriously, she just made a face and her staggering way to the entrance.

Aubrey followed Benjis lead and got to the other side of the front singer. Her steps were clumsy, and she giggled when Jesse moved like he was made of jelly on purpose, also snickering. She reached up to his stomach, but her hand was slapped away by Benji.

"I got him Aubrey, it's okay!" he said harshly, and Aubrey stepped back a bit, not fully processing what was going on.

On the other side of the table, Lilly got up. "See you at practice, Bec. It was fun guys." She threw a peace sign at the table behind her and left.

Beca huffed. She was glad that her call to head home was successful, although she was disappointed to leave Chloe and lowered her face to the still sitting woman. "Hey um, I don't know if he was joking or not but you're definitely welcome if you want to hear a college band practicing some cheesy break up songs…" Beca scratched her neck, looking around the table.

"I'd like that" Chloe smiled.

"Really?" Her eyes wandered to Chloe again. "Cool, cool, cool… I'm afraid I got to take those guys home now" she pointed and looked past Chloe as Aubrey, Jesse and Benji made their way to the exit.

Chloe suddenly remembered someone was missing. "Wait, did you see our friend Stacie? She didn't come back yet… Bree! Did you hear from Stacie?" she shouted to Aubrey who was almost out of sight.

"She texted me, she's fine and got home with someone."

"Okay. Someone? Wow, this flood of information… alright I'm gonna text her as well. Oh-" Chloe went up to the bar and reached behind it, grabbing a sharpie, "-just in case a fitting reward comes into your mind" and wrote her number on Beca's forearm.

_2X2-5XX-01X3, Private C._

"See you!" With a smirk, Chloe left Beca and followed Aubrey on her way out. Beca watched the scenery and suddenly found herself alone at the table. _That was… unexpected. Did I just get the number of the most freaking beautiful girl ever?_

She left Jeffrey's with a smile and was greeted by Benji and Jesse, who gave her a hard time getting in the van. She decided not to let her mood fall by this and helped Benji maneuvering Jesse into his seat. Eventually, they were good to go and drove off into the night.

Benji's phone chirped.

_Emily [01:43]: Sorry. Got home this second, everything alright. Sleep tight!_

* * *

**A/N2:** Beca's humming is modified after "Fox" from Millencolin (I still don't know if the original song is about a prostitute or a bike (I kind of hope the latter).

Btw: I don't know anything about US phone numbers. Sue me^^


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N1:** Revised version (same content)

I don't own PP or anything music related. Leave a review. Or don't. Be happy and free. :)

Also: Yay, we made it out of Jeffreys!^^

* * *

**Chapter 6 - Conversations and songs**

Rays of sunshine glistened through the small gap between the curtains of Beca's and Amy's dorm. A soothing silence was hanging in the air, just interrupted here and there with their breathing or the rustling of sheets when one of the bodies moved. The window was opened a few inches and the morning air breezed into the room, eliminating some of the alcohol stench that came from the knocked out blonde who rested completely spread out on her bed, clothes the same as last night except her shoes, which were nowhere to be found.

The silence was abruptly destroyed when Beca's phone came to life on her nightstand, the first few characteristic notes of MGMT's 'time to pretend' leaving the advice with a synthetic sound supported by vibration noises.

She hurried to answer it before Amy would wake up; she could not deal with two hangover-plagued beings at the same time.

"Please tell me it's at least 10 a.m." she greeted Jesse; whose contact information was present on the small green-black display.

"_Why didn't you stop me?"_ Jesse yelped back, the rest of his sentence trailing off in a pain-inflicted groan.

Beca looked at the alarm next to her. 7_:53 a.m._

"Jesus Christ. Jesse, do yourself and me a favor and go to sleep."

"_I can't sleep that long when I drank too much, common thing you know?"_

"No, I don't and it's no excuse, so…" she replied.

"_Was there anything embarrassing or stupid I did last night?"_

She huffed. "Not more than usual." A clearly ironic '_haha'_ came back through the speaker as Beca rubbed hear face and covered her eyes. "Well, you made everyone doing these bonding-shots again, but I think you remember this. At least I hope you do. Oh, and check your right shoulder."

"_Man, I had hoped that I only dreamed this. Did I do a speech again? …Ouch, this is gonna be a bruise."_

Beca snorted amused but stopped short when her noises made Amy turn in her bed. "Yeah, kind of, but Amy interrupted you a few seconds in."

"_Thank her. Did Aubrey notice?"_

"I think she was really into the shot-thing, at least I assume by the level of giggling between you and her…" She made a face at the thought of it, although she had to admit it was kind of cute to see them in such a mood yesterday.

"_Hm, maybe I should ask Benji for her number."_

"Sure. I mean she was all over you last night. Made Benji a little green." she chuckled.

"_She was? Damn I could've asked her then… speaking of! You and Chloe, hm?"_ Beca could practically hear his eyebrows wiggling.

"Uhm." She harrumphed. "There's no me and Chloe I recall."

"_Oh, come on Bec, I know I teased you with this womanizer thing, but it holds some truth! Drummers are hot! Believe me, she will be drooling if she ever sees you doing this solo you did recently!"_

"Shut up." Beca replied instantly but continued quietly after a few seconds. "Do you really think I'd have a shot with her? I mean she is clearly out of my league."

"_Scout's honor"_ he said seriously, before the conversation went silent again for a moment. Beca sighed and fiddled with her blanket. "I didn't really ask for it but… she gave me her number."

"_Whaaaat? Beca you rascal! Sweet!"_ he cheered into his phone and Beca had to hold it away from her ear to avoid any eardrum damage. "Shhh! Chill out, dude! You're waking Amy!"

"I'm awake since that lame ringtone of yours, shorty" Amy suddenly said, her raspy and tired voice emerging from the other side of the room.

"Great. Okay Jess, I have to take care of my lovely roommate now, speak later, ok?"

Jesse exhaled loudly, _"leave me in my misery, I'll deal with it on my own" _he said sarcastically._ "Oh hey, ask Chloe for Aubrey's number!"_

"What? No! I didn't even text her myself. Just write Benji or wait till Tuesday."

"_Tuesday?"_

"Well, you invited them for practice, didn't you?"

"_Oh, yes! I completely forgot about it! Damn, Drunk-Jesse is good for _something_ at least!"_

"Don't flatter yourself. Benji had to support you while walking. Later."

"_Bye, Becky."_

She rolled her eyes at his last words and put her phone one the nightstand. Maybe, if she acted quietly and moved slowly, she would get some more sleep. Her lids fell and for the next moments, the only sound filling the air was birds' twittering.

"So, are you going to get us some breakfast, mate?"

* * *

Chloe scurried through the kitchen corner and set the table while waiting for Aubrey to return with breakfast. In the background a small cd player played Panic! At The Disco. She hummed to the tunes while getting out some plates as her phone chirped; seemingly holding an answer from Stacie to her earlier question if she was o.k.

_Stace [10:14]: hey just got out. yeah, u 2? did I miss anything good? ;)_

_Chloe [10:14]: totally missed cute lead singer getting drunk but Bree covered it herself ;) so r u gonna tell me who's the lucky human u went with?_

_Stace [10:15]: stop deflecting, u know what I mean! what about the drummer girl? bet she's coordinated with her hands ;)_

Chloe rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress a grin at Stacie's comment. She grabbed something to drink and glasses to set and typed an answer, while getting another text from her friend at the same time.

_Stace [10:15]: only if u dont tell bree :P_

_Chloe [10:16]: Stacie! we just talked! not everyone is as forward as u!... maybe I gave her my number :) _

_Chloe [10:16]: cross my heart! X_

_Stace [10:18]: I knew u had the hots for her! :D good move. if she's anything good she'll write asap. well it might have been a certain cousin of someone we knew_

Chloe sat down at the small table and crossed her legs. She poured herself a glass of juice and waited a moment to write back.

_Chloe [10:19]: u think thats a good idea?_

_Stace [10:20]: whats the problem? can we please stop pretending she's a child? in fact its far from childish what we did ;)_

_Chloe [10:20]: I get the image. maybe u r right. but please dont play with her_

_Stace [10:20]: chill, I'm not a disney villain. actually she kind of kicked me out so_

_Chloe [10:21]: no breakfast for u then? ;)_

_Stace [10:21]: no I'll probably starve on my way to campus :'-(_

_Chloe [10:21]: lol. join us? I'll text Bree_

_Stace [10:23]: is that an offer? I think I made it clear I cant be bribed with food ;)_

_Chloe [10:23]: ur wish is the father of thought here. take it or leave it :P_

_Stace [10:24]: well think about our night back then and add Bree. it would be hot as fuck._

Chloe snorted out loud in disbelieve at the last message. They had hooked up one time in their freshman year and her best friend obviously wasn't tired of bringing it up every now and then just to tease her. Ironically, she could hear the voice of Brendon Urie in the background from her cd player.

"… _Is it still me that makes you sweat?_

_Am I who you think about in bed?_

_When the lights are dim and your hands are shaking as you're sliding off your dress?"_

She smirked and shook her head. "You gotta be kidding me" she said to in the direction of the cd player, as if the device had developed a life on its own.

_Chloe [10:26]: OMG Stacie. shut up and get over here weirdo_

_Stace [10:27]: someone's impatient ;) be there in 20_

Chloe laughed and opened the conversation with Aubrey to give her a heads up; then she continued to set the table and got another plate out for Stacie.

* * *

Beca was on her way to _Half Pipe²_, the small skater shop she worked part-time. She steered her BMX along the street and moved her lips to _Dani California_ playing through her right ear bud, which was connected to the discman in the large pocket of her Carhartt pants. The store was in sight and she rode behind it towards the staff entrance. When the small bike was safely parked in the back of the store, she stopped before the next step would take her behind the counter. Beca clattered her teeth in a rhythm absentmindedly while thinking about her next move. She really wanted to write Chloe, but the thought of an awkward atmosphere on Tuesday held her back. What if she got the wrong impression? Then again, they _kind_ _of_ flirted. And Jesse confirmed it. He usually had good gut instincts about those things. She got her phone out and decided to write something innocuous.

_Beca [16:01]: is this private C.? :)_

Before her brain could catch up with her actions and start to think about the smiley and if it was too much, she put her phone away, grabbed her name tag and got behind the counter. Next to a near-by shelf, her boss was in the middle of re-organizing a rack of spray cans. His cap was turned around and the prominent HP² logo of his own store was showing in her direction. She started to clean her surrounding when he noticed her arriving. The blonde buffed man dropped the can he was holding and approached her.

"Hey B! What's up?" They fist-bumped and he hopped on the counter.

"Hey Luke. Not much, you? Busy day?"

"It's alright, not too busy. Had a mother with her son who wanted a board and she wouldn't shut up. They think they open a Wikipedia page and boom! Know everything about a topic!" He rolled his eyes. "Apart from that, daily business." He hopped off again and attended his former work. Beca smirked and continued to tidy the workplace, when she felt a vibration in her pocket.

_Chloe(?) [16:17]: still no promotion? ;) _

Beca took her answer as a confirmation for the right number and looked around the store, which only had two visitors now. She could text back for a moment.

_Beca [16:18]: maybe u still got to prove yourself worthy?_

_Chloe [16:18]: is that so? you're very confident about herself, r u?_

She swallowed; afraid of having stretched a point. Then she remembered their conversation during the break on friday.

_Beca [16:20]: I wouldn't. but someone promised me something refreshing, and this is still pending…_

_Chloe [16:22]: fair enough ;) if your pizza shack has a range, I'm on it. r u a coke or pepsi girl? :D_

She breathed out, a little proud to get out of this trap. Or was she?

_Beca [16:22]: I dont mind I think._

_Chloe [16:22]: u know there's a huge difference? dont tell me ur team _

_Beca [16:23]: ok; didnt know there were preconditions for this. surprise me? :)_

_Chloe [16:24]: this talk is not over. but because I'm kind and running late, I let you off the hook. save me a good seat for tomorrow then :P_

_Beca [16:24]: you'll always sit first row_

_Chloe [16:25]: smooth ;) got to go, practice. see u then, drummer_

Beca heard coughing in front of her and jerked a bit by this surprise. She realized she must have been standing behind the counter like a statue, grinning from ear to ear without noticing anything else. A middle-aged woman stood there, a serious look on her face. She held hands with a kid, apparently her offspring. Beca's grin dropped to a neutral face.

"Miss, we bought this skateboard this morning and I'm not convinced, so this …" the woman began and Beca knew this was going to be a long shift.

* * *

Tuesday afternoon, the door to Paula's Pizza opened and bumped against a little bell which was attached to the wall. The ringing sound announced the arrival of new customers and an employee turned around to welcome them.

Stacie, Aubrey and Chloe made their way to the counter, the smell of freshly backed pizza and tomato sauce drifting into their noses. The small restaurant was furnished in a corny supposed-to-be Italian style with small tables covered in red and white checkered tablecloths, old wine bottles as candle stands and a large Italy flag on the wall.

"Why are they always into this fake European style?" Chloe whispered to her friends, gaining a smile from both before they reached their destination. Behind the counter, a smiling brunette woman greeted them.

"Hey, welcome to Paula's! I'm Jessica. Would you like a table for three?"

Aubrey's eyes flickered over her name tag, which clearly showed '_Ashley_', but decided to ignore that. "Hi! We are actually here for the band practice?"

"Oh." Her face fell a bit. "Yeah, just go through the door behind the corner on the right. Next to the bathrooms. It has a sign with-" she made a quick pause "-_Just treblepassing_ on it" the girl said as if she herself didn't believe what she said and lost her interest in the customers.

"Thank you." Aubrey turned around and all three followed the instructions of the staff member.

"Five bucks it was Jesse's idea" Stacie stage whispered.

"I'd say Benji" Chloe returned.

"I'll go with Beca" Aubrey said.

"Why her?" Chloe asked, maybe a little too quick.

"I don't know. Gut feeling." Aubrey shrugged.

"We'll know it in a few minutes" Stacie chimed in, when they stopped in front of the aforementioned door. It had a sign on it, yellow background and black writing, and looked as a regular 'no trespassing' sign, only with an altered sentence.

Chloe let out a quick snort. "I think it's kind of cute." Then she realized something. "Oh snap, guys, give me two minutes!" She trailed off to the front of the restaurant.

"Hey, excuse me?" The girl behind the counter turned around and Chloe was faced with a blonde. "Hi, welcome to Paula's! I'm Jessica. What can I do for you?" Chloe frowned, hearing that sentence again although this time the name tag indeed read '_Jessica_'.

A few moments later, Chloe returned to her friends with a to-go cup. "Okay, I'm back, let's go." They opened the door and entered a short corridor with another door straight ahead, the muffled sound of heavy guitar sounds and drums coming towards them.

When Stacie opened the next door, the volume of the music increased significantly. Apparently, the garage was made soundproof, so that customers of the restaurant wouldn't hear anything. Now that they were right in front of the band, they had to shout to communicate.

The five-person band was arranged like last friday, with everyone standing in front of the drums. They recognized their visitors and Jesse waved at them without stopping his vocal part; everyone else was too concentrated on their instruments.

"_Sitting out dances on the wall,_

_trying to forget everything that isn't you_

_I'm not going home alone,_

_'cause I don't do too well on my own…"_

Emily faced Beca and headbanged to the rhythm, seemingly communicating with her bandmate. Eventually the song ended; the last lines softer with Jesse's voice just accompanied by a few guitar strokes and drums.

Their three visitors applaud and Jesse did a dramatic curtsy. The others ditched their instruments and while they approached their visitors, Chloe, Aubrey and Stacie took the chance to get an impression of the room.

It was a little bigger than a double garage and held, besides the music equipment, a couch right next to the door, facing the band. Further on their right, a large gate replaced the fourth wall. A pair of small windows were in sight, almost covered by the soundproofing. Left of the band was another door and two overhead lights dangled from the roof, similar to a factory building.

"Good to see you! What do you think about the sign?" Jesse said grinning, coming up to Aubrey first. He paused for a moment but decided to go in for a short hug, which was reciprocated by her, smiling. When they detached, he continued with Stacie and Chloe to prevent an awkward situation. Behind him, Benji followed his example.

Emily just waved at them but threw Stacie a wink. "Hey there, Stace." Stacie felt blood rushing into her face, feeling betrayed by her body. She wasn't used to this feeling at all and overplayed it with coolness. "What's up?" she answered plainly and averted her eyes. "Oh, by the way, you owe me five." she whispered smirking to Chloe and Aubrey.

Beca arrived last, waving shyly with one hand, while she straightened her beanie with the other one. Chloe stepped up and held out her cup.

"Special order for a thirsty drummer" she smirked and locked her eyes with Beca's.

Beca looked at the cup. "Am I going to regret this?" she asked playfully, but took it anyway, sipping through the straw. It was disgustingly sweet first, but then she recognized the mixture.

"No please, you did not mix Pepsi Cherry and Vanilla Coke, did you?" she laughed and stuck her tongue out.

"The same look was on Jessica's face when I told her my order" Chloe responded, smiling.

"You mean Ashley?"

"Well… the girl at the counter. So?" she beamed at Beca expectantly.

"Hm, I actually kinda like it, I think this qualifies as _mission accomplished_." Beca winked at her. Chloe grinned broadly and Beca was once again enchanted by her appearance; leaving them both staring at each other.

A cough startled them. It came from the stage, where Lilly still stood with her bass guitar. A neutral impression laid on her face.

Beca's view left Chloe, who turned around. Their friends must have witnessed their dialogue and just stood there, watching them curiously.

"Well, that was… interesting. Should we then? Continue?" Emily asked carefully, clapping her hands. She took the group out of their trance and everyone began to move, either to the stage area or the couch.

"Yup! I'll just… take this with me." Beca mumbled and brushed past Chloe, who giggled to herself.

The rest of the rehearsal proceeded uneventful. At one point, Jesse decided to practice the song which originally contained a solo from Beca, and she instantly knew why he chose to do that. She played along, not wanting to discuss anything in this situation, but reduced her part a bit (later, Jesse would tell her he witnessed a restless and staring Chloe, but she didn't know if he was just making things up).

When the band decided to come to an end, they gathered around the couch and talked for another while until Aubrey got up and declared that she had to leave for tutoring. Jesse jumped up and offered his guidance out, which was gladly accepted. Benji's phone rang and he excused himself as well, leaving the garage through the mysterious door left of the music equipment.

Lilly stood and turned towards the stage area, opening a bag and starting to clean her bass. Meanwhile, she whistled a strange melody. Stacie and Chloe watched her nervously, the enfolding picture reminded them inevitably of a scene from a horror movie, where the killer calmly cleaned his cruel tools.

"She's intimidating sometimes, but she wouldn't hurt a fly… I think" Emily whispered, gaining a chuckle from Beca.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that"

"What do you mean? You know her longer don't you?" Emily asked.

"That doesn't mean I _know_ her. Seriously? She kind of just turned up someday, played bass like a devil and we needed her, so…"

"You're kidding." Chloe and Stacie exchanged glances.

"No, well-" Beca started, but the door coming from the restaurant opened and Jesse came back, with a goofy grin on his blushing face.

"Oh boy, you got it _bad_, don't you?" Stacie asked him, noticing his appearance first. Emily laughed loud and jumped up, a thought in mind. She plugged her guitar in and started to stroke a few chords while barking out sentences in Beca's direction.

"Hey Beca… What do you think the teacher's gonna look like this year?"

Beca needed a few seconds until she understood and joined in. "Primus man!"

She stood up and got behind her kit, falling into Emily's rhythm with soft hits on the drums. Jesse covered his face.

"He brought his pencil" Emily shouted. "Give him something to write on!"

Chloe and Stacie joined Jesse and watched the two girls teasing their friend. Lilly dropped her cloth and added a few notes on her bass, then Emily chanted the chorus.

"_He's got it bad, got it bad, got it bad…_

_he's hot for teacher…_

_he's got it bad, soooo baaaad, he's hot for teacher"_

They continued for a second verse and refrain, the latter supported by Stacie and Chloe who still stood next to Jesse, serenating him from each side. The band leader could just stand there and endure the show, a big grin on his face.

The song came to an end with strong blows and crashes by Beca and the sound of a cymbal still ringed softly in the air when a familiar voice came up.

"What's going on here? I'm away for a few minutes and you start the party without me?" Benji was back, a beaming expression on his face.

"Well, I asked Aubrey out and she said yes, I think it's worth a party" Jesse mumbled shy.

Benji's face fell. "You what?"

* * *

**A/N2: **Since the story is roughly located in the 00'-10' years, there are no smartphones. So texting is 160 characters, which forces everyone to shorten everything I guess. At least we did that at the time. Therefore text dialogue sometimes has no correct grammar or spelling.

Songs this chapter:

MGMT - Time to pretend

Panic! At The Disco - Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dani California

FOB - 7 Minutes in Heaven (Atavan Halen)

Van Halen - Hot for teacher


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N1:** revised version (same content)

This is a bit shorter than the last chapters, but I thought I'll upload it anyway to avoid further delay.

I noticed that I forgot to **thank you for the reviews** that already got in! Much appreciated! :)

I don't own anything PP or song-related. Leave a review. Or dont. Be happy and free :)

* * *

**Chapter 7 - The build up**

"Well, I asked Aubrey out and she said yes, I think it's worth a party" Jesse mumbled shy.

Benji's face fell. "You what?"

„That's awesome, Jesse!" Emily rushed towards him and gave him a pat on the back.

"Is it?" Benji mumbled, more to himself then to anyone else. Emily heard it though and frowned. "Why shouldn't it, Ben?" Her voice was a bit softer than before as she turned to her cousin.

Jesse interrupted them before they could say anything else. He didn't want to destroy the mood and couldn't find a reason why him dating Aubrey should be a problem.

"Anyways! What about getting some pizza together? Something tells me there's a nice place just around the corner. Chloe, Stacie, you're in?"

They were, and soon the group was squished in a booth next door. The brunette from the counter joined them. "Hey guys! Do you already know what you want?"

"_I_ certainly do…" Emily murmured and stroked Stacie's thigh under the table and the tall girl shivered.

"Coke! Much ice please!" Stacie shouted and put a hand up, which gained her a few wary glimpses of her friends.

"Ok… Anyone else?"

Jesse interrupted their orders and introduced them. "Oh, girls, this is Ashley,-"

"You mean Jessica" the brunette cut him off.

"Jessi-? Well, one of my co-workers." Chloe and Stacie nodded friendly. "Uhm, Jessica? Could you get us two of 'Paula's special'? Don't worry guys-" he turned to the group, "-you're gonna love this! I created it last week together with the chef!"

Since no one had any objections, they fell in light chatter after that. Eventually, their order arrived, and it turned out that 'Paula's special' was nothing more than a big rectangular pizza, which was divided in smaller rectangles each holding a different topping. Each compartment was surrounded by pizza crust. Jesse practically beamed, proud about his creation.

"Isn't this just sweet?" he asked before the first piece found a way into his hungry mouth. The rest of the table exchanged glances and before long everyone at once reached out to the food, greedily grabbing a piece. The chatter from before was continued and only interrupted by food intake.

"How did this dork convince Bree to go out with him?" Stacie whispered to Chloe while chewing.

"Opposites attract? she answered smiling.

Stacie just scoffed, knowing that Aubrey's standards for dating someone were rather high, maybe to high for her own good. "Probably. Could work though. he may be good for her, loose her up, you know. I almost have the need to give _her_ the best friend talk instead of him."

Chloe laughed. "Before anything else, she needs a _break_. I think he might be able to give her exactly that. I mean look at him, he's bubblier than I am."

Her look went over the table to Jesse, who had two pizza crust pieces in his mouth, imitating some kind of saber-tooth cat. Beca sat next to him and watched him a moment before slapping him on the forehead, mumbling something about _growing up_ and _ladies_. Lilly and Emily however seemed to have a good time being entertained.

"_Bubblier_ meaning the biggest man-child on earth?" Stacie grinned.

"Well, sometimes you need a sledgehammer to break a wall" Chloe winked back.

The dinner continued and half and hour later, Stacie and Emily made up an excuse to dismiss themselves. Something that involved not being home late and studying for exams, but nobody at the table took these reasons for real, regarding the sexual tension between them that grew with every minute of their gathering.

Eventually the rest of the group followed their example. As they got their coats, Beca approached Chloe shyly.

"Hey, you gotta get back to campus, don't you?"

"Last time I checked, my dorm was still there" she winked at Beca.

"You know, I actually was going to offer a ride back with the _Mitchell express_, but I'm not sure if I take clients related to captain sarcastic" she shot back, turning slowly. She did not forget Jesse's remarks about Chloe drooling over her drum solo and played the confident card.

"Oh, bummer… but it just so happens that I also have the tendency to over-tip, d'you that would work as a compensation?" Chloe replied, making big puppy eyes and a fake pout which ultimately led to Beca releasing her suppressed grin.

"I'm young and I need the money…" Beca sighed. "Yo Jesse, don't worry about the garage, I'll lock it" she shouted over her shoulder, making a gesture for Chloe to follow her.

She led Chloe back to the sign-door through the short corridor into their rehearsal room, locking every door behind them. After making sure the big gate was closed, she opened the door left of the stage area. Behind it was a very small room which contained a few containers, a freezer and a BMX bike; straight across was another big metal door.

She looked at her ride and suddenly doubt overtook her. Did she think this through enough? Maybe it would rain? Maybe Chloe didn't trust her enough? And what if Chloe did certainly not want to stand on the small poles protruding from the middle of the back wheel for like 20 minutes? She started to turn, an excuse on her lips, when she recognized the big smile on the redhead's face.

"Oh my god, the last time I did this was when? … like eight years ago? Nine? This is awes!" Chloe went to the bike and steered it out of the corner. "But you really have to promise not to make too narrow turns, that's how my brother bestowed me with this-" her finger went up to a small scar on her forehead.

"Oh, you really wanna do this?" Beca asked delighted, trying not to be too surprised since she offered it herself earlier.

"I don't plan to let my drive with the Mitchell-express go to waste, no worries" she smirked at Beca and held the bike in her direction.

"Then after you m'lady, the departure is in a few moments" Beca replied, opening the second door, which led out behind the garage to a small patio. After locking everything Beca sat down on her bike and Chloe got up, standing on the small poles. She had to grab Beca's shoulders to support her foothold and couldn't suppress a giddy feeling at the touch. Beca had those toned shoulders and arms and Chloe caught herself wanting to knead them.

The small woman beneath her tensed shortly before leaning into the touch, enjoying Chloe's hands on her._ You obviously don't need no big car but just a bike and a bit of luck._

"You're ready?" Beca asked, looking behind her.

"Absolutely!" Chloe answered with joy, pinching Beca's shoulders a bit.

Beca started to pedal precariously, but after a few meters and with a little balancing help from Chloe they managed to drive off to campus.

"Everything alright up there?" Beca asked behind her a few minutes into their ride. "I hope it's not exhausting or something."

"Oh, don't worry about stamina, it's great! I'm feeling like a teenager about to meet my friends on the playground for a game of dodgeball… although those memories revoke some mixed feelings" Chloe answered, leaning a bit down to Beca's ears.

"Why's that?" she shot back, eyes on the street before her. She could already see the grounds of Barden ahead of them.

"Well, there's no childhood trauma or else, but it was always just so-so, since I'm not really good at pitching. I was always better with dodging itself, but that's just half of the game unfortunately" Chloe replied.

"Sorry to hear that… I think I was just lucky that I can pitch alright. And dodging was never really the problem for me; in fact, one time an opposing team wanted me out because I was too small or some shit, and it wouldn't be fair. It was the one game I was actually wanted in a team when the voting began."

"Well, you're not _that_ small" Chloe said with a comforting voice and placed her hand on Beca's beanie, rocking it a bit back and forth to tease her.

"Hey, watch out!" Beca laughed, "No passenger insurance included!"

They resumed their journey and soon enough arrived at Chloe's dorm complex. Beca brought the bike to a halt a few meters away from the entrance and put her feet on the ground.

"I remember; this is the building I've only seen from afar till now. Good to know it's actually inhabited and not haunted…" her eyes scanned the front, which was old and in need of refurbishment.

"Hey! This has been my home for the last two and a half years! … but you're right, it looks better on the inside." Chloe grinned, getting off the bike, ready to head inside.

"With you living in there definitely…" Beca trailed off, mindlessly tapping one foot on the front pole of the bike. She only recognized what she said then and turned her head to Chloe, who gave her a big smile.

"Thanks for the ride. I'll recommend the service."

"Anytime." Beca shrugged and looked down, trying to make it sound casual.

"So… see you around?" Chloe asked expectantly, on the brink of entering the building. She wanted to give the other woman the chance to ask first, or she would take things in her own hands.

Beca saw her almost leaving and her mind went back and forth, pondering the possible outcomes._ The worst thing that can happen is she says no. _

"Hey Chloe?"

"Yes?"

A second passed. _Just. do. it. _"Doyouwannagooutsometime?"

Chloe looked at the small woman who was sitting casually on her BMX, face lightly pink, one hand on the handlebars, one hand on her head fumbling with her headgear. In this moment she was everything what tall, ripped, confident, fancy-dressed Tom was not. A smile settled on her face.

"I'd really like that."

* * *

„_I have to say that I'm impressed, Becs!" _

The melodic voice of her front singer reached Beca's ear. She was getting ready for her wednesday shift at work and threw some other pants on.

"You make it sound as if I'm not capable of asking someone out" she mumbled, her phone clamping between her shoulder and ear.

"_Oh, don't worry, I know you can do that. But I thought that it would take you another few weeks. The last time-"_

"The last time was something I'd rather forget. I really got some mixed feelings there and she was really fucked up come to think of it" she cut him off. She took another look in her shared room to make sure she had everything she needed and got out.

"_I know, I know. This is different, I got this gut feeling!"_

"Not that I didn't hear this before. But you're probably right. I mean Benji knows them for a while now, they seem to be _trustworthy_."

"_Sooo, when do you go out and what did you plan?"_ His voice was fake innocent, barely hiding his curiousness. He was a sucker for romantic gestures and while Beca was bugged by that most times, he was always a good advisor concerning those things.

"Um, we agreed on Saturday. She has _something-_practice while I have my weekend shift and we'll meet up after that. For… well. I don't know yet." Beca walked through the building to her bike and braced herself for Jesse's reaction. Unexpectedly, her friend did not shriek through the phone.

"_Becs, Becs, Becs. You useless gay."_ Beca snorted. _"You know my how to's. HIM. Hobbies, Interests, Majors. Just get those info and brainstorm. Call me if you don't know by friday."_

"Dude, did you just make that up? How the hell do you come up with stuff like that? You sound like some editor from some girly magazine" She laughed out loud while her steps slowed down, reaching her bike. Beca unlocked it and got on the saddle.

"_Hey, don't complain. I'm not saying I'm an expert, but it did work! …a few times. Ok, twice. But you gotta admit it has a ring to it"_

"Yeah, just… don't tell anyone ever again." She earned a mocking sound from Jesse. "Hey, when do you meet the teacher?"

"_If you're speaking about Aubrey,"_ he emphasized her name, "_we go out on friday. We're getting early dinner and then it's time for a game of laser tag."_

Beca scratched her forehead. "That sounds actually really cool. Do you think you can make her keep it a secret so I can do this with Chloe?"

Jesse just sighed. _"Here's the deal, if we don't come up with something before I head out on friday, you can play copycat. But you'll owe me."_

"You're the best. I think about something. Gotta go now; call you?"

"_Do that, have fun."_

Beca rode over the campus, until she came to the point where she could see Chloe's building from the distance. While she didn't start yet with thinking about some activities and was sure she could come up with something eventually, there was nothing that popped up in her mind right now. She really didn't know much about the woman, apart from her liking the Trebles music, pizza, beer and that she did some kind of sports.

She really needed to get some information, as cheesy as Jesse's advice sounded. Should she write Benji? Or Chloe to make things easier? She and Chloe texted a few times the last days and a few messages after last night, but nothing more than small talk, like complaining about cafeteria food and stuff like that.

_I could initiate a round of dodgeball. Nah. Dinner and movies? Yawn. Visit the skater park? Hm. Keep that in mind._

She passed the sports grounds of Barden, riding next to the track field. A few runners were getting warmed up. She let her eyes wander over the area. _She has practice on wednesdays, maybe she's her somewhere. I still got some time till Luke will start to miss me. _Beca followed the path that led through the different fields and courts. She checked the basketball courts. Nothing.

Swimming? An image of Chloe in a bathing suit popped up. _Wouldn't that be something._ But to her disappointment, she couldn't make out red hair in the crowd of students. Just some tall brown-haired guy in the middle of a few girls, who were obviously idolizing him for his well-built athletic figure. Tim or Ted or something she recalled; Fat Amy had had a thing for him and visited the races a few times, only to talk about him non-stop afterwards.

She passed the last pitches and got a bit lost in the cheerleaders training. Then a familiar face popped up. Stacie appeared on the green and started to say something Beca couldn't hear, but it was obviously something important, because all the other cheerleaders started to gather around her. After some time, the circle broke up and Stacie went in the direction of the soccer field behind the training grounds. She was met by someone. Red hair. Broad smile. Familiar hug. _Jackpot!_

Chloe wore the green and purple soccer jersey representing the Barden Dashers, the showpiece sports team of the university. Beca took her phone out and texted Jesse.

_Beca [15:43]: Came up with something. Know anything about soccer + where to get tickets?_

_Jesse [15:44]: That was fast. No but CR does. I'll get u their number_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N1:** Revised version (same content)

Longest chapter till now! This won't be a regular though - creative output needs the right mood and time, say whaaaat?

RJRMovieFan: Maybe this chapter will give a hint. But I hope that I don't forestall too much ;) Thank you for all those follows, favourites and reads!

I don't own PP or anything song related. Leave a review. Or don't. Be happy and free. :)

* * *

**Chapter 8 - Weekend activities**

Benji and Aubrey sat in the small library which was assigned to the college's branch of humanities. Their class on friday morning was being shortened after the last questions regarding the upcoming exam were answered and both decided to use the time for studying. The last hour elapsed in almost complete silence, only disturbed by interim coughing or the sounds that came with opening a water bottle, like now. When Benji lowered his flask, he looked over to Aubrey.

"So… Macbeth really is a stupid douche, isn't he?"

Aubrey answered by just making an agreeing humming sound. Benji put away his bottle and watched her closely. She was apparently concentrating on a mind map which should resolve every relationship between the characters of the story they focused on in their English class.

"Excuse me, what?" She dropped her pencil, turning her attention to the man in front of her.

"I said Macbeth is a stupid douche."

"Ah. Yeah well. I think everyone who believes that one can just follow along these rather twisted prophecies of those three _bitches_ may be an idiot." She rummaged around her stuff and sheets, looking for specific notes. "I certainly don't believe in supernatural things, but _if_ I were to be given a _prophecy_, I'd rather be cautious how to interpret it" she continued chuckling.

"I think it makes an excellent question. Are we supposed to act at all when it comes to prophecy-like events? To life-concerning predictions? Or will any reaction turn them into self-fulfilling prophecies? Do prophecies rely on us acting on them?" He nibbled on his pen and gazed into the distance; a habit he picked up in his philosophy classes.

Aubrey snorted and observed him with platonic adoration. She envied him for his ability to be this carefree of daily worries and stress; being able to focus on - in her opinion - such meaningless questions and thoughts.

"You do know that there aren't any witches or wizards or gnomes or … whatever in real life? You don't have to worry about being trapped in a dark alley confronted with some creepy divination" she said, trying to get him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah." He stuck out his tongue. "Although there is no proof that something like that _doesn't_ exist. I would say the disguise part-"

"And that's it with philosophy 101 today in the library!" She cut him and clapped her hands, grinning. "Come on, it isn't about the content anyway. We're supposed to focus on the language."

He raised an eyebrow. "Then why do you have this mind map with all the people there?"

"I just added some things. I actually made it in high school in my senior year, we already had Macbeth then."

"Oh, I should've known." Benji rolled his eyes playfully. "So, tonight you're going out with Jesse, huh?"

Aubrey was again absorbed in her notes, scribbling something down. "That's the plan. He picks me up at six."

"What are you up to?"

"I don't know actually." Her eyes shot up at Benji. "He wouldn't tell me, just that I should bring something else than a dress as backup clothes." Her facial features took on a hopeful expression.

"Oh, um, sorry Bree, he didn't tell me anything either…" _Because I never asked._

"Shoot. I hoped that you could give me a heads up. God, I ha- don't like surprises." She altered her words; it was unnecessary to make a bigger deal out of it in front of Benji.

"No, sorry." He sighed, knowing that he had to address the following. "Bree… could you… Listen, I know that you don't like surprises and stuff like that but… He's a good guy and. Well, you sometimes, you know? Have high expectations." He rambled, unable to express himself.

"Sorry, I don't get it. What exactly are you telling me?" She asked a bit snappy. "Should I worry?"

"Okay." Benji exhaled. "Aubrey, we both know you have the tendency to be harsh and having too high expectations."

"Excuse me?"

"Let me explain. I know you for a few years now and I can keep up with it. Chloe and Stacie too. But you got to admit that other people can have a hard time meeting your expectations regarding being friends or dating? For example, Kori or Unicycle. Not to mention a few others." Benji raised his hands in a defending manner.

"Kori was lazy in every way possible and wanted to secretly copy my seminar paper! She did nothing to deserve my friendship."

"Because she didn't have time to write her own since her grandma died days before the deadline!" Benji shot back.

"Whatever. And Unicycle deserves this name. I mean he would _always_ bring this silly toy to a date. He wouldn't listen to anything I'd tell him about my day because he was always fumbling with this thing."

"We both know that this was not the reason you broke up with him."

"Benji, I can't be with someone who's biggest dream is being a ringmaster. It's ridiculously childish." Her arms were crossed now, and she looked everywhere but to Benji.

"Ok, I know I have no right to question your decisions. All I'm asking you is that you give Jesse a chance."

"I think I'm doing exactly this?" She turned to him offended; eyebrows raised.

"A real chance. He can be childish as well and his dreams are not _that_ far away from Uni's with wanting the Treblemakers to become a professional band. But I know him for some years now and he went through hard times. There's much more to him than just being the cheery and charming front singer how you got to know him as." Benji's voice was serious and he suddenly had developed a protectiveness that was unusual for him.

Aubrey breathed out. She was no monster, she just had clear visions when it came to commitment and her future. Benji acted as if she was a queen granting audiences to the common people. She could let loose, too. Then again, if someone was in the position to be straight with her, it was Benji. No pun intented.

"Is this your best friend talk?" She mumbled, smirking at Benji trying to lighten up his mood.

"I suppose." His face was stern, nevertheless.

"Ok. I'll promise to be… open. I like him; otherwise I wouldn't have agreed."

Benji stared at her a few seconds, pondering as if he should allow this or not. "I trust you. Don't fuck this up." He was surprised of his own words for a moment.

Aubrey was taken aback and nodded slowly. "Ok." was all she could answer. After clearing her throat, she tried to change the subject again, they were still facing a few hours of studying together. "So… about the language theory…"

* * *

On Saturday, Stacie woke to the sound of a belt buckle. She opened her eyes, her gaze drifting slowly to the alarm on her nightstand.

_[07:14]_

Searching for the source of the chink, she made out Emily's figure standing in the still dusky room. Her back was facing the bed as she continued to get dressed. Stacie watched her a few seconds. Her body was gorgeous, that much she knew. By now, she had seen a lot of it and intended to extend this experience. There was something else though, which Stacie tried to avoid most of the time.

Interest.

A little voice in her head had asked questions a few times, which she did not phrase out loud. But they were still there. Small things, like _What's your favorite music? What subject do you like most? Do you want to grab dinner sometime?_

No, she wouldn't ask that. She wouldn't risk getting feelings. To protect herself. She had an image to maintain. A _lie_.

Stacie could count the people she'd slept with on one hand, including Emily. She wasn't the promiscuous cheerleader everyone thought she was. Stacie had been with every one of her partners for different reasons; some of them turned out to be bad.

Why did she sleep with Emily? The girl took unforeseen initiative. She wasn't awestruck by Stacie. And that little voice again. _There is something different about her._

But as if to prove the voice wrong, the younger woman in her room tried to dress as quietly as possible and to sneak out without Stacie noticing.

She decided to disturb the silence. "You don't have to get out _that_ early, you know?" She said, not moving from her position under the sheets.

Emily's motions stopped only for a split second. "Hey, sorry I didn't want to wake you." Her voice was soft and caring, nothing like the sultry possessiveness it was filled with last night. "I have a busy day and want to be back before the parents wake up."

"Hmm. We'll text then." Stacie replied, still not moving.

"We will." Emily finished dressing and grabbed her bag. "Have a good day, sexy lady."

With that, she stroked over Stacie's covered body and left. When the door closed behind her, Emily left out a big sigh into the corridor.

This wasn't her. She didn't want to sneak out. She wanted to continue sleeping, to cuddle, to have breakfast together. But that had never been an option, she knew that; even before she met the woman for the first time. Stacie wouldn't resume this in any other way, that was the deal from the beginning, wasn't it? Emily didn't want to inspire her picture of a young high school girl by getting clingy. Being cool, sly and playing the guitar got her in the position she was now in and she would get on with it, because it worked. Not once did she get a comment from Stacie about being young or inexperienced. When Emily left the building, the sun was rising, and she unlocked her bike for the 30-minute trip home.

* * *

"Okay guys, take 15 and remember to hydrate. We'll come back to one-on-one situations after. Mary-Elise get your butt to the nurse; I don't want your ankle to be a problem in the next match," the coach shouted over the field and the students gathered around the benches.

Chloe took her towel and brushed over her sweaty face before grabbing her water bottle. She rinsed her mouth and took a long drink; then her look wandered over to the training grounds of the cheerleaders, which stood in a large circle. After someone shouted a few words, everyone put their hands in the middle and quickly pulled it back with a whoop. The group dispersed and Chloe approached the dive between the fields - on the other side Stacie followed her example.

"Quitting time already?" She shouted to her friend.

"How shall I put it, we're just _that_ good." Stacie returned as she came closer.

"Thank god you're not smug" Chloe winked. "The pyramid is quite something I have to say. Do you think your prepared enough for regionals?"

"Please. If half of us were leg-less, we'd still crush them. Even without the two confetti guns." Both chuckled, the trophies lining up in the hallway spoke for themselves.

"So, what's up for this evening? Hoping to get lucky, Beale?"

A snorting sound escaped Chloe's mouth. "Not everything is always about meaningless … _get together_."

"_Get together_? Stop being innocent. You thought about getting it on with her, didn't you?" She nudged Chloe's shoulder and got an embarrassed smirk in return. "You did! Oh, please, there's nothing wrong with it. You're hot. She's hot. End of story."

"Yeah, okay I did. But it's not the first and certainly not the only thing I thought about. She's really sweet. And _different._" Chloe argued.

_That word again. Stacie could hear the voice in her head nodding._ "I'm glad you're moving on. For some time, I thought you'd think about getting together with Tom again."

"What? No, no, no. I was just slow. My feelings and our relationship were over quite some time before I ended it. I know this now."

"Good. Wish you look anyway for tonight. Do you think it's possible to have sex on a drum kit?" Stacie asked dreamily and earned a smack from her best friend.

Chloe snorted. "Just stop, Conrad. Speaking of, what about you and Emily? How come you met her more than once? Is there something more involved than just _getting together_?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

Stacie felt a cold breeze in her neck. First her head, now Chloe. This was nothing more than having fun."She's just a good _amusement._"

"And you _both_ know this, do you?"

"OH MY GOD, YES." Stacie shouted, taking a step back. She breathed for a moment and lowered her voice. "Did it ever occur to any of you that I'm not a soul-sucking succubus? Guess what, I do have feelings." _I'm just good at hiding them. _"_We_ slept together and you're still alive, aren't you?" She gestured to Chloe, who held her breath and looked around to see if anyone noticed them.

"…this was not I meant. Sorry, Stace. I know you're not _evil_. And just for the protocol, I don't regret having been with you. It's just… it's Benji's little cousin and I have these protective feelings somehow. But you're right, it's not fair to you either. You both know what you're doing."

Stacie huffed in response and looked down. "Sorry I yelled."

"It's okay. How about having lunch next week and we'll talk about anything but our dating life? You still didn't tell me about this physics class."

"Oh, don't get me started. I'm so happy it was just temporary. I fucking hate math. And physics. Just as every biologist I suppose." Stacie chuckled.

"That bad, huh? I wasn't able to make use of this either." Chloe agreed, when they heard a shouting voice behind them, obviously the coach ending the break. "I got to get back, every minute we're late Abernathy is making us do fifty push-ups… Love you!"

"You too. Hurry up!" Stacie replied with a smack on Chloe's butt.

* * *

Beca went to Chloe's dorm complex. The euphoric feeling of Tuesday had faded and was replaced by nervousness. She remembered that after she had asked for a date, her body insisted on reaching her fist in the air when Chloe got into the building, as if she was John Bender from _The Breakfast club_. She was glad that nobody had seen her embarrassing move when she drove back to her dorm, a big grin on her face.

Now with every meter she came closer to the building, her stomach felt as if it was filled with bugs. One last straightening of her Supra long sleeve. Check. Hair still in loose bun? Check. Vans still clean? Check.

She entered and had to admit that Chloe indeed had told the truth; the building definitely looked much more beautiful inside than on the outside. The walls were paneled with some valuable-looking precious wood, not that Beca had any knowledge about that topic. Various bulletin boards in show cases were mounted on them, all notes were neatly pinned inside. Where the walls were not paneled, they were painted in a precious dark green. She went upstairs where the slightly bigger dorms were located, using the equally noble stairwell.

A few steps and a knock on the door later and she was greeted by Chloe, who wore a pair of jeans and a green blouse with butterflies on it. "Hey!"

"Hi there." Beca returned smiling, doing a small wave.

"I'm ready to go. Oh, since you didn't tell me what we're up to - what about a jacket or something for later?"

"Um, yeah something like that should be fine, we'll be outside I think."

"You think?" Chloe asked, cracking a smile.

Beca just shrugged and smiled back; she was not completely sure if the place had a roof but wasn't keen on showing this.

"Okay mysterious girl, just a sec-" with that, Chloe turned around and disappeared from the view. Beca could peek into the room, it definitely was bigger than Amy's and hers. She secretly used a finger to push the door a little bit more open and got a closer look. The dorm held two beds as usual, but they had something that looked like a small kitchen corner with a table and chairs. Additionally, another door was located on one side of the room, which led either to a walk-in closet or a bathroom she assumed.

"You can come in, you know?" Aubrey's voice came up, together with a few notes of music Beca recognized as something from The Killers. She pushed the door open and saw Aubrey sitting on her bed behind the entry, reading something.

"Oh, hi Aubrey! Sorry I didn't see you."

"Got it!" Chloe announced and suddenly appeared again. "Sorry guys, no time for chit-chat. Later, Bree!" Chloe grabbed Beca's hand and pulled her out of the dorm, where Aubrey dismissed them with a "Have fun!".

They left the building and went to the parking area to Beca's van.

"So, you're not going to tell me what we're doing?" Chloe asked, pouting playfully.

"Hm, nope. Not yet. I'm pretty sure it's obvious once we get closer though." Beca winked back.

"You guys with your secrets." Chloe grinned and nudged Beca's shoulder. "I like it. You should have seen Aubrey yesterday before Jesse picked her up. She practically hates surprises and was all jittery."

"It seems she liked it either way, at least that's what I got from Jesse's texts. He sounded very happy with everything. Did she say anything?" Beca asked back and held the passenger door open for Chloe. When she got in, Beca rounded her van and joined her.

"Nothing apart from having a good time and that she would do it again. Except maybe this morning, when she got up and realized the hangover in her muscles. And the mass of bruises on her." Chloe replied and both shared a laughter at the thought of Aubrey, getting marked by a flood of paint balls.

"You know, this could sound awfully suggestive if you don't know the context of this sentence…" Beca considered loudly.

"Ew, you're right… I wouldn't have taken you for a dirty mind, Beca." Chloe gave a seductive look, laying a hand on Beca's thigh.

The smaller girl looked down to the hand on her and back up, swallowing. "I hope it's a pleasant surprise then…"

Chloe just laughed loud. "As I already mentioned, I _love_ surprises…"

Beca breathed out and turned the radio on to calm her nerves. The van was now filled with the sound of the Arctic Monkey's _Fake Tales of San Francisco_ and she thrummed on the wheel along with it. "Let's go then."

...

They were driving for about thirty minutes in the direction of Atlanta, when Beca took a turn at a signpost giving direction to 'Madison memorial stadium'. Chloe spotted the sign and her jaw fell.

"Wait a second. We are not going to the _finals_, are we? Beca tell me you did not!"

Beca furrowed her brows. "Uhm yes? I really thought it would be a cool idea, since you're playing yourself, but we can still go back and just have dinner somewhere-"

"Don't be silly, this is absolutely awesome Beca!" Chloe shouted, grabbing Beca by the shoulder. She was obviously beyond excited and Beca had a hard time steering straight while being shaken.

They arrived at the parking lot and made their way to the entrance into the crowd.

"This is so cool!" Chloe took her hand and squeezed it. "So, what do you think about our team by the way?"

"… our team?" Beca was confused. She did know that tonight Atlanta was playing versus Washington, but she did not remember the teams in detail. _Prepared, much?_

"The Barden Dashers, silly" Chloe grinned. "_Our_ team?"

"Oh! Of course, … okay so would you like, dump me right now if I say I've never been at a Dashers game?" She winced and tried to look innocent enough.

"You're kidding me. Really?" Chloe asked, incredulous about the things heard.

"Yep. I'm pretty focused on the whole music stuff and I don't know much about soccer… I did know that Barden has a popular team, I mean we don't have a football team and that's saying something. But there hasn't been any occasion yet. Sorry?" She raised her eyebrows in question.

Chloe smiled back. "No need to apologize. I was just surprised. But since I know that now, I would like you to come sometime? I'm sure _someone_ will accompany you" she asked softly. "How did you know I play if you haven't seen a game then?"

"Phew! I'll definitely catch up on it!" Beca winked. "Oh, I passed the training grounds on campus when I drove to work a few days ago and saw you. The jersey suits you." She added. "What position do you play? Do you say it like that?" Beca scratched her head, hoping she didn't make a fool of herself, but Chloe looked at her happily.

"Yes, you do." She squeezed Beca's hand encouraging, who then realized they were still holding them. "I'm playing in the left defense position. I used to play midfield in high school, but I realized I'm better at defending and switched for my scholarship at Barden."

"You have a soccer scholarship?"

"Yup." Chloe answered shyly. "Me and my parents were approached by a talent scout at the end of the season in my junior year at high school and it became pretty clear that I want to attend Barden, since they play a major role in woman college soccer."

"Wow. That's neat. You wanna play as a professional after college?" Beca asked as they slowly approached the entry of the stadium.

"Actually yes. I have one or two inquiries from certain teams, but I'm focused on the season right now."

"That's like, really impressive. I'll keep my fingers crossed!" '_I keep my fingers crossed', god Beca you're being a goofball like Jesse. _

"Thanks!" Chloe smiled at Beca and they proceeded through the gates, were the security staff patted down every visitor. Beca showed their tickets she got with CR's help and they strolled through the corridors of the stadium to get some food. Half an hour later, they sat down on their respective seats with hot dogs and soft drinks. Chloe was still awed by the whole arrangement and pointed to certain directions, spots and players who did their warmup. Beca tried to follow her comments and to memorize the wealth of information.

"…and this is Abby Wambach, she's on the national team and one of the top scorers. She's really good. I think I'd pee my pants if she would lead a charge and I was to defend that…" Chloe laughed nervously. "We're _obviously_ cheering for the Silverbacks tonight and she's with Freedom, but I'm really looking forward seeing her play."

Her gaze drifted over the field, when she snapped her head back is if she remembered something. "Oh, Beca why don't you say anything? Here I am, chattering about me and soccer the whole time. What about you? I mean… what are your majors for example? I don't think I've seen you on campus before."

Beca grinned, she was not that much into soccer but loved the passion Chloe spoke about the whole topic and listened to everything she said. "Don't worry, it's only the second worst date I had- _ouch_!" Chloe nudged her side with her elbow, a fake offended look on her face. "Kidding, woman," she grinned back. "I take it as a personal teaching lesson. Well, I major in _music theory and composition_. My classes are pretty much on the other side of the campus, so there's that."

"Oh, that may explain it. It sounds really demanding; is there a little geek hiding under that cute skater sweater of yours?" Chloe winked and stroked Beca's arm, who tensed a bit. _Is it hot in this open-air stadium?_

"Guess so?" Beca grinned shyly. "I mean it's not that demanding, I think? Being with the Trebles helps and vice versa. It's a great possibility to put some theory into practice. I'm doing all the arrangements of our songs since Jesse and Benji take care of the lyrics."

Chloe raised her eyebrows in fascination; she didn't know much about playing instruments and knew Beca was good, but she didn't expect that much expertise. "I really don't know what to say, that's so cool… and sexy."

Beca felt her face redden and took a large gulp of her drink to hide it.

It didn't go unnoticed by Chloe though and she continued the conversation to overplay it. "So how did you all meet each other? I know that Benji's majoring in English and Emily's still in her senior year. What are the others doing?"

"Actually, there was a note in the dorms during my freshman year that said something about launching a rock band. So, I went to the meeting at Paula's and met Benji and Jesse; he already worked there at the time. He doesn't attend college and wants to become a professional musician. Anyway, him and Benji wrote the note, we played together, and it instantly clicked. Well, the other two drummers we're crap, sorry. There was also a dude who played bass guitar, Donald or something like that, but he left after a few weeks. Then Lilly just showed up without saying anything and continued to play with us. Remember what I told on Tuesday?" she chuckled.

"Oh yes, that's still creepy as hell." Chloe said with wide eyes.

"But we were lucky, she's really good. It wasn't much long after her appearance that Benji suggested asking his cousin to join, because I, well _we_ had some ideas that required more than one guitar and that's how Em came around. Rest is history." Beca shrugged and downed her drink.

Chloe beamed at her and had to resist the urge to kiss her here and then. She was so happy that Stacie had insisted for them to see Benji's band last week. She caught herself thinking that it could have been destiny, although she wasn't the type to believe in stuff like that. Benji did. Thanks, Benjamin.

"I'm really glad to be here with you," she spoke softly after a moment of silence and locked her eyes with Beca, who replied with a genuine smile.

"Me too."

They stared at each other for a few seconds before they saw that all players got off the field to gather in the locker rooms and that the game would begin in a few minutes, so Chloe stood up and held out a hand. "I'm getting another round; do you want another hotdog?"

Beca gave her the cup. "Um, no thanks I'm gay. **GOOD**. Oh my god, again?" She buried her face in her hands.

"I know, cutie" Chloe giggled. She stroked Beca's hair and made her way upstairs to be back before the kick-off.

* * *

**A/N2: **So, maybe some might've noticed I mixed some events and timelines regarding the soccer game here. The date is a reference to the USL W-League finals in 2007, Atlanta Silverbacks vs. Washington Freedom in Rochester, NY. I bended the truth here and there to fit into the story. Wambach didn't play for Washington in 2007 (I'm pretty sure), but hey. You got to break an egg to make an omelette.

Did you catch the Glee hints? :D


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N1: **revised version (same content)

Needed some time afk. Then I got carried away.

I don't own anything PP or FOB related! Leave a review. Or don't. Be happy and free :)

* * *

**Chapter 9 - Carpet surfing**

The referee's whistle went off and Chloe jumped up. Again. A bit of her drink spilled over due to the sudden movement.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? NO WAY IN SEVEN HELLS WAS THAT A FOUL!"

Beca winced in her seat and looked around curiously. She could hear some whistling and boos, so the referee must have made a wrong decision she concluded. Not that she could tell, but Chloe's outburst was a hint. Beca did not at all expected her to be so outgoing about this; it was a little bit irritating. And kind of a turn on. Which was also irritating.

Chloe observed the situation unfolding on the field for a few seconds and then turned to take her seat again. "JESUS CHRIST WOULD YOU BELIEVE THIS…"

Her eyes met Beca's, who smirked calmly at her. "Hi."

Chloe realized that this was a situation that had reoccurred a few times by now and flushed with embarrassment. "I'm… sorry? I… We have such a good time and I ruin everything by acting like some drunken hooligan watching a football game at home." She clapped on her thighs, as if to calm herself. "I'll behave now."

Beca just grinned and put her hand on Chloe's knee. "It's alright. I got to admit I didn't expect this, but I'm glad you're having a good time. You're not like a drunken hooligan. If any, a cute one." She added a wink for good measure and retracted her hand.

"I'm just very passionate about all this, both with playing and watching. Should've given you a heads-up, shouldn't I?" Chloe smiled to her side. "I'm sure it's just my subconscious feeling comfortable around you."

"I'd feel honored if it weren't so cheesy" Beca whispered sarcastically.

Chloe smile converted to a laugh. "Too much?"

"Maybe a bit?" Beca scrunched her nose and rolled her eyes playfully.

Chloe watched Beca amused and put her cup down without taking her eyes of her date. She moved a little closer. Beca had her eyes on the field but eventually recognized her staring and turned around.

"Can I do something for you?"

Chloe hesitated for a moment. "…can I kiss you?" she whispered, barely audible through the mass of voices and sounds filling the stadium.

Beca stared at Chloe and nodded, feeling heat creeping up her torso and neck. Her eyes shortly fell to Chloe's lips and back to her blue eyes. She didn't want Chloe to kiss _her_, but rather actively participate in this.

Her hand came up to Chloe's cheek and they slowly closed the distance, their lips meeting halfway. All sounds of their surrounding faded off, leaving just the feeling of their lips moving against each other. _So soft._ An electric tingling wandered from her mouth to her neck, over her torso to her legs right into both of her big toes. A small sigh escaped Chloe and she pressed her tighter against her.

Beca thought she heard the referee's whistle go off again after what felt like an eternity, followed by something that obviously was a goal celebration, but Chloe made no effort to react.

* * *

After Beca dropped Chloe off at her dorm, both concluded that it was definitely not their last date. They started to see each other regularly during the next three weeks; whether it was for coffee, band practice or a late-night skateboard tour, on which Beca tried to teach Chloe not to go flying. Moderately successful. In return, Chloe taught Beca some things about soccer to ensure she could cheer for her properly on the next game day. Pretty decent.

Jesse could convince Aubrey to clear her schedule for a few other dates as well and slowly managed to break the eggshell of studying, tutoring and yoga which surrounded the blonde usually. She met Benji's request and got herself into Jesse's nature, which indeed brought her some amusing dates. Even if him talking to the waiter with a Russian accent was a bit close to her limits.

One evening, Emily was busy with Stacie when her phone chirmed. It vibrated in her pants which lay under the bed, carelessly thrown away in the heat of the moment.

_Jesse [20:36]: hi all, hope this works, first group msg: we got another gig jeffreys friday in 2 weeks! practice is obligatory!_

* * *

_White fog surrounded him. He took a few steps, but the scenery didn't change. No sound, no visuals, no smells. Suddenly, words came out of his mouth and he stood in the hallway._

"_Hey Mom? Dad?" _

_He entered the living room and found his parents sitting at a very large dinner table, covered with tons of deliciously looking food. Neither of the two people cared to look up from their breakfast._

"_I'll be in town with Eli and Steph today, so…" he went silence, awaiting a reaction._

_After a while, his father looked up. "Then why are you still here? Just go already…"_

"_Um…" he hesitated. "I just wanted to let you know-"_

"_Whatever. I don't care. And I'm sure Elaine doesn't either" the older man stated._

_Why was he referring to his mother by her exact name?_

_The woman at the table looked up at the man in front of her. Her eyes flickered to the figure standing in the doorway and back to her meal. "Quite accurate, Robert. And what should the neighbors say?"_

_A familiar pain in his chest amplified. His eyes fell to the floor. He turned around, only to meet a gigantic version of his father's face right before his eyes. _

"_While you're at it, make sure you'll __**stay**__**away**__. We don't want you here anymore."_

_He jumped backwards, suddenly in the front yard of their house. Aubrey was standing across him, wearing a white, laced dress. She looked like an angel, but her face was a living proof of disappointment. "I never would have thought you were like… this" she spat; her voice thick with disgust._

_He wanted to say something, when suddenly Brad appeared next to her. He put an arm around Aubrey, his eyes full of pity. _

"_You really think you're good enough for her?" _

_Brad's appearance morphed into a grotesque face and he took a step back, holding up his hands defensively, but his feet gained no hold. So he fell. Darkness swallowed him. He wanted to shout for Benji, call for help, but no sound left his throat. Aubrey's head appeared above him and a scream accompanied his fall. Ugly, foreign. _

_Then her voice became lighter and converted into a tune. _

_She sang. _

"_I don't care what the people say_

_I wear my pain everyday_

_People say it's a waste of time_

_I say it suits me just fine…"_

Then he stopped falling.

His body laid firm on something soft. The darkness remained however, until he realized he had the power to change it himself. He opened his eyes and recognized the small room; dim light was shining through the window, illuminating the place golden. He turned his head to find found the source of music… there it was. The radio alarm on his nightstand continued to hum him awake and he moved his limbs. Still a bit foggy he stood, turned the radio off and went to his small wardrobe, when his phone went off.

"H-Hello?"

"_Hey dude, I'll be there in like… 20 minutes; you ready?" _Beca's voice came through the speaker. He took a deep breath and memories of the day flooded his mind. An exhausting shift at Paula's, cleaning up his place because it looked like hell and the deep wish to sleep for days, which could only partially be satisfied by napping before the performance tonight.

"Um, yeah sure." He swallowed.

"_Jesse? Are you okay?"_

"Yes! Yes, just a… just a bit sleepy. Took a nap."

Beca chuckled. _"Well okay, get ready 'cause we're about to rock those new songs, to say it in your words."_

"Will do, see you in 20!"

The line went dead and he stepped into the small bathroom to wash his face. Jesse stared in the mirror, water dropping from his face. He could still hear Aubrey's scream in his head.

* * *

Chloe closed the door behind her and walked around the stage, through the pub and to her destination at the bar.

"They'll be ready in a few minutes" she said, grinning in Aubrey's and Stacie's direction, who talked about something. "Oh, hi Fat Amy! Good to see you" she added, when she noticed the presence of Beca's roommate.

"What's up, pretty leprechaun? You're supplied?" Amy asked, signing to the tap behind her.

"Not yet, I'll just take a coke or something." Her eyes wandered to CR, who got the hint and went to the fridge.

"Why's that? Did CR tinker again with the beer pump?" Amy asked and inspected her glass.

"I heard that…" CR's snarling voice came up behind her and Amy just shrugged apologetically.

Chloe grinned and raised a hand defensively. "First, it's game night tomorrow. Got to stay sober and focused. Second, there's nothing wrong with having a break from time to time."

"I'm sure it has nothing to do with a certain roommate of mine." Amy retorted, while taking her phone out and got busy writing someone.

_Everything._

"Maybe." Chloe answered sweetly and turned to her friends, who laughed about something. "What's so funny?"

"Did you have fun _backstage_?" Stacie asked seductively.

"Oh, I'm sure it didn't suck. Or _did_ it?" Aubrey giggled.

It took Chloe a few moments to get the message and she reached intuitively to her neck. She coughed. "This little sneak."

"Yeah, we know it's supposed to sound offended, but the effect fades when you're all lovey-dovey…" Stacie winked. "Just don't let Coach A-Mc see it or she'll snap as far as I know her."

Chloe bit her lip. "God, you're right. The last time someone on the team gave her the impression they had anything else in their life than soccer, she made them clean the refill water bottles for a whole month." She gazed in the distance with a small disgust in her face for a few second when she addressed Aubrey. "Hey, I missed you back there. Is everything ok between you and Jesse?"

"As far as I know, yes? He just said that he's a bit shaken up today and needs time to focus before they come out, so…"

That moment, the door next to stage was opened and Trebles came out to take their places. The girls at the bar cheered and clapped and soon other people joined in - the pub was again crowded this friday. Chloe led out a particularly loud whistle to get the attention of their respective admirers, which led to a shy smile from Beca, a bride grin from Jesse and a seductive wink from Emily. Fat Amy just rolled her eyes.

"You know I think I should charge you commission, since it was practically me that led you all to the _path of love_-" she said, making jazz-hands with an irritated face but was cut short from the stage.

"_Hey guys, good to be back! We are the Treblemakers and our lawyer made us change the name of this song so we wouldn't get sued!"_

With that, he began the first notes of the song and was quickly accompanied by Emily's guitar and Beca on the drums.

"_Brothers and sisters put this record down,_

_take my advice, 'cause we are bad news!_

_We will leave you high and dry,_

_it's not worth the hearing you'll lose_

_it's just past 8 and I'm feeling young and reckless…_

_the ribbon on my wrist says: 'Do not open before Christmas.'"_

He held his wrist up where some festival band was fastened.

"_We're only liars, but we're the best…_

_We're only good for the latest trends,_

_we're only good cause you can have almost famous friends;_

_besides, we've got such good fashion sense"_

He pointed up and down his body, emphasizing his old sneakers, torn jeans and the tatty Chicago Bulls tricot.

"God, he's such a dork, this is totally his text I'd bet on it." Aubrey shouted in Stacie's direction, while she couldn't suppress a grin.

Stacie gave her an amused look. "Are you still the Aubrey I know?" When Aubrey didn't stop grinning she chanted in her ear "…you think he's gorgeous, you want to kiss him, you want to fu-"

"Seriously? This line?"

"-you want to _love_ him" Stacie continued and laughed about herself.

"Oh my god. You watch to many movies." Aubrey scoffed. "Just… go look at your sex buddy or whatever."

"Hey, Sandra is hot in this! And don't worry, I definitely will."

"The skirt's pretty short don't you think?"

"Well's not her fault she has never ending legs… and they're flexible, I can assure you that."

"TMI, Conrad."

The Treblemakers played for over half an hour and then announced a break as they did the last time. Chloe immediately grabbed a drink and got up to Beca to sit in her lap and peppered her with kisses, as if she wanted to mark her territory and fend every possible human being who maybe approached the small drummer.

Aubrey looked up to Jesse, who was again surrounded by a few fans, all genders represented. Some held up little pieces of paper, but he quickly refused and said something while pointing to Aubrey, who was smiled back. _That's right, he's mine._

Emily was in a conversation with Benji as Stacie decided to say hi and got off her stool, when she saw another guy approaching the Applebaums. He waited for the cousins to finish their talk and made himself noticeable. Both were obviously surprised and gave him a hug, although Stacie thought that the one Emily shared with him was a bit longer than necessary. She paused her steps. She could see one of his hands wandering down her back to her butt, but before it was in a compromising position, he let go and Emily took it. She beamed at him and took his arms, only to press herself against him one more time and he petted her head._ Is she a dog or what?_ He looked a bit older than them, but actually pretty attractive… although he was wearing a uniform, as if he came straight from military camp.

_Who's this guy?_

Stacie watched them interact tenderly for a few moments and decided to stay out of this. Emily and she had met regularly the last few weeks, but nothing more. Both women were always a bit shorthanded after they'd met. They were, after all, just _fuck buddies_.At least Stacie never indicated otherwise. Despite all this, she got sick of this scene unfolding in front of her.

_Who the hell is this guy and who does he think he is?_

Stacie turned around and went to the bar again. "CR, give me some Wild Turkey" she stated coldly. As CR just raised an eyebrow, she added a "Please? ...and make it double" and sat down on her stool again.

"What's the matter, hot stuff?" Amy's voice rang out through the noise in the pub. "Something to celebrate or to forget?"

"Your choice, Fat Amy."

Stacie made it through five further shots when the break was over, and everyone took their seats again; at least those who had one. Most of the people were standing in front of the stage and cheered when the band came back.

"_So, my boy Benji and I got something new we want to share with you tonight. It's not the happiest or most cheerful song, but it is, as all our songs, something that comes from here" _he pointed to where his heart was. _"No worries, you'll get your dose of rock after this again" _he winked and made a sign in Benji's direction, who started playing a soft piano melody. After a while, Jesse began to sing.

"_How cruel is the golden rule?_

_When the lives we lived are only golden-plated_

_and I knew that the lights of our city were too heavy for me…_

_Though I carried karats for everyone to see…_

Then Benji's voice joined him.

"_And I saw God cry in the reflection of my family_

_and all the lovers with no time for me_

_and all of the mothers raise their babies_

_to stay away from me…_

_Tongues on the sockets of electric dreams_

_where the sewage of youth drowned the spark of my teens…_

_And I knew that the lights of our city were too heavy for me, too heavy for me…_

_Though I carried karats for everyone to see, everyone to see_

_And I saw God cry in the reflection of my family_

_and all the lovers with no time for me_

_and all of the mothers raise their babies_

_to stay away from me_

_and pray they don't grow up to be me…"_

The last tone drifted through the large room. As not a single sound was there to hear anymore, Beca hit her drumsticks four times and the next song began; heavy guitar tunes and drums as expected. Jesse made a step back from the microphone and just played guitar, since the next tune was sung by Benji alone.

"Bury me standing under your window, with the cinder block in hand,

yeah 'cause no one will ever feel like this again…

and if I could move, I'm sure it would only be to crawl back to you,

I must have dragged my guts a block... they were gone by the time we talked...

Whoa, I want to hate you half as much as I hate myself,

but you know that I could crush you with my voice…"

Stacie sat still on her stool; her eyes filled with tears streaking down her face. "That was so beautiful" she whined, still moved by the ballade and Chloe turned around startled and leaned towards her.

"Oh Stace! Yes, it was really sad but- Hey have you been drinking?" She asked, as a stench of whisky came up. "You know you're the head cheerleader and have to be top prepared for tomorrow, right?"

"I'm sorry Chloe… don't be mad" Stacie sobbed and buried her face in Chloe's shoulder.

"Jesus. It's okay, sweetie, just stay here and have some water. We'll go home after the concert. It's gonna be okay…"

...

By the time Chloe tuck Stacie in her bed, she was calm again and overpowered by tiredness. She fell asleep the second Chloe and Aubrey left her room and didn't notice her phone going off then and the next morning.

_Emily [23:05]: where are u?_

_Emily [23:11]: you already left? why didnt you say bye? so no sleep over tonight?_

_Emily [23:26]: hello? em to stace_

…

_Emily [10:34]: sorry, didnt want to sound so clingy last night. see you at the game later._

* * *

"What do you think? Suits me, huh?" Beca swirled around on one foot to show off the letter jacket with Chloe's name on the back and made a victory sign in front of her stomach.

"Totes, babe. And everybody who sees you wearing this knows you belong to me."

"More like you belong to me, don't you think?" Beca said smirking, leaning in for another good-luck kiss.

"You are disgusting. If anyone asks, I don't know either of you. Chloe we gotta go, apparently there's a soccer game in like ten minutes and you're involved." Stacie spoke up, rolling her eyes while she approached the couple.

"Jealous, much?" Chloe whispered to Beca and added another peck for good measure. "But she's right anyway, I need to go. Get up and join the others, I'll see you after the game."

"Yes mam!" Beca mocked salute and turned to the stands where their friends were located.

Chloe turned to Stacie and stretched her legs one more time. "So, how's your head? Ready to cheer, leader?" She asked.

"Ha ha. Yeah, it's okay. Took some pain killers and drank a lot of water, so. Thank you for being there yesterday."

"Sure thing, Stace." They walked towards the catacombs of the college stadium. "Was there… a reason for this?"

"N-no? It's… it's really nothing. I was just stupid. Forget it."

Chloe eyed her for a few seconds and nodded. "Okay, if you want to talk, you know where I am."

They reached the entrance of the catacombs where the cheerleaders assembled to be ready for the arrival of the players. "Yup. Thanks... and Chlo? You'll crush them!" She waved with one of her pompoms and Chloe left to meet the rest of her team.

...

After the initial ceremony and the kick-off, Stacie climbed the stairs to meet her friends on the stands. She would join them and watch the first halftime a bit before her meet-up for the halftime performance. The small stadium was packed, mainly students who saw the opportunity to get cheap beer; some people could be perceived as attached family members. Most of the spectators wore purple and green, but a few guests wore green and white, flying the flag for the Jacksonville team.

When she came closer, she could already see the little group of friends. Beca and Benji stood next to each other, in conversation while watching the game. Above them stood Aubrey, who was hugged by Jesse from behind. Next to them she could see Emily… and the mysterious guy from yesterday. He had ditched his uniform and wore casual clothes, an arm around Emily's waist.

Before she could comprehend the situation, Emily recognized her and waved.

_Great. Now I got to get up there._

She approached the group and waved at them. Everyone returned the gesture and Emily gestured she should close up on her.

"Hey" Emily whispered. "Sorry for being annoying yesterday. I didn't want to sound needy, I was just wondering where you were… I mean we don't have to meet every time after performing. No pressure. I just didn't-"

"Em." Stacie cut in. "It's alright. Calm down. Sorry I left without giving word… something came up."

"Oh, okay. Cool. Um, hey - did I introduce you two?" She pointed between Stacie and the figure next to her. "Stacie, this is Chicago, Chicago this is Stacie-"

"Hi Stacie, nice to meet you" Chicago said, reaching to Stacie with his not-occupied hand.

"Hi." She refused to shake his hand, but instead tried to shoot some daggers with her look.

"His parents are old friends of our family and he's on home leave for a few weeks." Emily continued cheerful, pressing herself into the tall man.

"How… nice" Stacie managed, fixated on Emily's move. Chicago said something she didn't pay attention to and only listened up when he asked if anyone else wanted a drink. Aubrey and Jesse answered him, while Beca and Benji where enthralled by the game.

"You want anything, princess?" he asked Emily, who denied, and he turned to leave for the snack bar.

_Really? 'Princess'?_

They watched the game for a few seconds until Stacie couldn't hold it back any longer and leaned to Emily.

"So… what's the deal with you?" she tried to ask casually and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"What do you mean? Chicago is an old friend and he, Benji and I used to play together when we were kids. He's really sweet."

"Did you sleep with him?" Stacie hissed, instantly biting her tongue. _So much for self control._

"What?" Emily chuckled. "He's like a big brother."

_That doesn't answer the question._

"Okay… he's kind of touchy for a big brother. Just saying."

Emily knitted her eyebrows. "Hey, if you got to say something-"

"No, it's fine. Just wanted to state the facts."

"What facts, Stace? There's nothing going on! Not that it was any of your business." Emily became angry now, raising her voice.

Next to them, Jesse squeezed himself along the stands, holding his phone tightly to his ear. "…could you wait one second please, I got to go somewhere quieter." One hand covered the microphone area now and he left the group.

"Is everything alright?" Aubrey asked, looking in Stacie's and Emily's direction.

"No need to worry" Stacie replied, her eyes stoically fixated on the field. Emily just snorted, which didn't go unnoticed.

_So, she probably fucked this army guy. Big brother my ass. Whatever. Obviously, it's none of my business. _

Sometime later, Chicago came back, handing Aubrey the drinks she asked for earlier and settled next to Emily, putting his arm around her waist again. "So, what did I miss?"

"Um,…" _He obviously means the game. _"Nothing special I guess." Emily replied.

"Just you then" Chicago added, winking. She managed a small smile but cringed internally, knowing too well that Stacie must have heard this. Emily was very aware of his affections and couldn't deny that it was too touchy for a _big brother_ figure. But it felt good. He was tall and _protective_ and _cuddly_. Stacie didn't want to be this, did she? Why should she restrict herself then? She wasn't worthy of a message yesterday, so what was the problem?

In the corner of her eye, she could see Jesse coming back, practically beaming at them, holding his phone in a fist and striking a winning pose. He opened his mouth to say something, when the crowd got louder.

Shouts like "_faster_", "_right there, pass!_" and "_yes, just shoot!_" chimed up and seconds after, the audience lost it. 1-0 Dashers vs. Dolphins.

Beca practically jumped in Benji's arms, cheering for Chloe's team. "Suck it, Jacksuckerville!" she screamed towards the field, earning herself a few angry gazes from people around them.

When everybody calmed down again, Jesse tried to get the attention of his friends.

"GUYS! Guess who I just talked to?"

The group stared at him expectantly.

"The Treblemakes just got themselves a label!"

* * *

**A/N2:** Songs this chapter:

Mando Diao - I don't care what the people say

FOB - Our lawyer made us change the name of this song so we wouldn't get sued

FOB - Golden (with a bit altered lyrics)

FOB - The pros and cons of breathing


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N1: **Revised version (same content)

Finally, I was able to finish this. I even have to study for an exam in this multi-week course. Argh. I'm not thaaat satisfied with this chapter (I hope it's not boring), but I got everything out that I wanted to. RJRMovieFan don't worry, we'll come to Stemily soon.

I don't own anything PP or music related. Leave a review. Or don't. be happy and free :)

**TW: Really mild homophobic behavior + trans outing.**

* * *

**Chapter 10 - Offstage**

They crossed the street and arrived at the front of a large building. _Baker & Partners_ said the big letters on the frontage.

"You sure we're right?" Beca asked, using her hand as a sun protection to look up the large structure. Next to her, Benji, Emily and Lilly came to a stop.

"It should be here. The guy was pretty clear with the address. Let's see…" Jesse walked to the entrance and looked at the nameplate at the door. "_Baker & Partners_ Office, _Baker & Partners_ Mail & Service, _Baker & Partners_ Private… how huge is this office? Ah, there it is. _Main Cold Records_."

Beca raised an eyebrow and gave Benji a questioning look, but her fellow band member just shrugged. "This is so exciting!" Emily squealed next to Lilly, who stuck a finger in her ear to muffle the sound.

Jesse pushed the respective button and a female voice came through a speaker. _"Hi, this is Main Cold Records, what can I do for you?" _Jesse looked at the others and coughed. "Um hi, this is Jesse Swanson from The Treblemakers… we have an appointment with Mr. Richards?"

The door buzzed without further word from the voice and the group entered the building. Soon, a woman with dark hair came up to meet them. She wore a tight skirt suit and her hair was up in a tight bun, suburb soccer mom style. Her smile was comparably tight. "Who of you is Jesse Swanson?"

"Um, this would be me, hi." He approached her und put out his hand, but she just gave him a quick look and turned around.

"Please follow me. Do not enter any rooms and don't touch anything."

"What a pleasant woman. She and Aubrey should meet." Beca whispered to Benji, who just smacked her arm in response.

The woman led them through a black painted corridor; many frames with golden and silver disk were attached to the walls and each one was spotlighted, highlighting the small engraved plates below: _Best single_, _Best album_, _Best Newcomer_. They arrived at a large reception desk and the woman got behind it. "Please stay put, Mr. Richards will be here within a short time."

Jesse turned around and looked at his friends. "So, what do you think? Isn't this some hot shit?"

"It is totally amazeballs, Jess. Oh my stars guys, we're going to be famous!" Emily whispered loudly; her grin wide.

"I was a bit skeptical, but… it _is_ pretty awesome, dude." Beca replied, patting Jesse on the back.

They all took a seat on the lounge area in front of the desk. After a few minutes, a bearded guy approached them. Although no sunlight could enter the hallway, he wore sunglasses and had a smug smile on his face.

"He looks like a turtle" Beca mumbled to Emily, who chuckled quietly in response.

"Hey, what's up Treblemakeeeers! So. Good. To. See you!" He fist-bumped with Benji and Jesse, who sat on the chairs closest to him and waved at the others. "Hey, whats up! I'm Theo and I'll be your captain today!" A tsk-sound escaped his mouth and he lifted his sunglasses shortly. "Shall we?" He pointed in the general direction behind him and everyone got up. As he passed the counter, he spoke quietly with the receptionist. "We'll be in my office, thanks Alice."

The group followed him through a corridor until they reached a door which was apparently his office. One by one they stepped in and took a seat on the two couches standing in a corner. A large desk and stylish paintings completed the scene.

"Alright!" Theo clapped his hands. "In case my buddy Jesse here hasn't told you yet, I had the chance to watch your performance at Jeffreys last week. Let me just say, I was thrilled! You are just the artists we're looking for and with some minor little changes, this has the potential to be the next big thing!"

"What do you mean by _little changes_?" Beca shot back.

The smug grin appeared again on his face. "Eager! I love it! We'll get there, but I would suggest that first we get to know each other, you tell me a bit about you as a group and I'll show you around?"

"Sounds awesome, Mr. Richards!" Jesse replied, before anyone could object.

"Please, call me Theo."

...

For the next hour they got to know the place and learned about the label's history. They spent a lot of time in the basement, which held four recording studios; two of them fully equipped with instruments. Everything was shiny and precious it seemed, and Theo asked them to play one or two songs. It was a bit rough at first, since they were used to their own gear, but it didn't really impair their performance.

When the group had relocated to Theo's office, Benji addressed the earlier issue. "So, what are these changes you talked about?"

"You stick to your guns, don't you?" Theo winked while clicking his tongue. "As I said, there are only some minor changes I had in mind. Nothing that should let you lose your cool." He leaned back in his big chair and crossed his legs. "Your lyrics for example. I think we could focus on something… less deep. Parties, rebellion, alcohol, sex, women and not giving a shit. Freedom! You're young and wild! The total college experience, you know what I mean?"

Beca raised an eyebrow. "But… three of us aren't even attending colle-" Beca started, but Jesse ignored it. "Sounds feasible; I mean, who doesn't like that?"

"That's what I thought" Theo said, high-fiving Jesse. "We have some writers here and I think you could work with them together. As for both of you" he pointed between Jesse and Benji, "we could use you as the face of The Treblemakers. Good-looking bad boys who stir the blood of every girl with one wink, huh guys?"

Benji moved in his seat. "I'm gay."

"Oh. Well, nobody has to know that. Doesn't work well with your reputation. But we can think of a solution when the time comes. What about you?" He sent Jesse a questioning look.

"Me? …um, no. No, I'm good."

"Alright! So, our front guys: lady killers. Speaking of ladies; hm, how do I say this. You could work on your sex appeal a bit." His eyes skipped between Lilly and Beca. "You know? Maybe show us what you got, a little bit more skin, a little bit more… wild hair?" He eyed Lilly's straight black hair and gestured with his hands. "Don't worry Emily, _you're_ exempted from this. Love your shirt by the way."

Another wink escaped him, and Emily smiled shily. However, she stroked her short t-shirt down to cover her navel a bit. If Lilly was affected by his words, she didn't show this. She just sat in her chair with a straight face, her arms on the armrests, leather jacket open, chewing her gum.

Beca couldn't keep calm though. "Dude. Sorry, but hard pass. I wear what I want. And what's wrong with Lilly's hair?" she asked annoyed.

Theo wanted to reply and lifted his hands in a calming gesture, but he was beaten by Jesse. "What my friend Beca wants to say is that we'll think about it and are open for improvements." He eyed Beca and grinned positively at Theo.

"Ok, that's the spirit. I knew I could work with you! So, I have a pre-contract here which contains all the stuff you need to know. Take it with you, think about it and then you'll come back to me and get famous. Getting paid for making music, isn't that the dream?" He looked expectantly to the group. Jesse was the only one answering.

"That's awesome Mr. Rich-, Theo! Thank you! We're very excited."

"Good to hear boys and girls, if you pass Alice tell her she still needs to get me my coffee!"

...

The door of the large building wasn't completely closed as Beca snapped. "Dude, what the fuck?"

"What do you mean?" Jesse asked confused.

"All that change-stuff? _Wild hair_? Really? And what about that pervy comment about Emily? This Theo guy is like thirty or something… and I'm not gonna wear stuff I don't want to!"

"Becs, just chill! Maybe we could do a few party hymns beside _Dance, dance_; and maybe you could wear something which… is less skater-ish?"

"I really hope you're fucking with me 'cause that's really a lot coming from _you_, you know that?"

"Beca is right, Jess." Benji intervened. "These changes are pretty much the opposite of what we are right know. We write songs we are emotionally attached to and we are a bunch of queerdos, not some boy band the girls are screaming for and who are just accompanied by their female band members."

"Usually they scream due to other reasons." Lilly said, flipping her butterfly knife. They all gave her a terrified look. "What? Just… kidding?" She flipped the object in her hand again, which exposed itself as the key for her bike.

Jesse turned to Benji and Beca again. "Listen guys, I know this sounds awful at first but let's just think about it for a bit okay? This is a one-time chance! I mean, hello-o? We're going to be freaking famous! Emily? Back me up here!"

"Jess… I have to admit I was really excited at the prospect of being famous and getting paid for this awesome thing we have. But we should really let this sink in and think about it first. Don't you feel awkward about this whole cover boy thing?" Emily answered.

Jesse sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. "Look. What if I don't want to be a queerdo for once? Just some guy who fits in this world. I'm sick of all this _being special_ and stuff."

"What about Aubrey?" Benji asked. "I'm not really sure if Theo approves that one of his _lady killers _isalready off the market."

"He didn't say anything about relationships."

"Well, I'm pretty sure he will." Benji replied, now getting a bit annoyed. "What was that _I'm good_-thing anyway?"

"I just didn't want to scare him off."

"By saying who you are?" Benji almost yelled now. Beca tugged Emily and Lilly at their sleeves and they made a few steps back. "What about _you're tired of lying_ and _fuck those who don't accept you_, huh? What about _being who we are despite what everyone's thinking_?"

"Yeah, maybe sometimes you just got to shut your mouth and take what you can get?" Jesse yelled back.

"Tell that Aubrey. I'm curious what she'll say."

Jesse didn't answer and looked down. He scratched his head and kicked a pebble on the ground. As no answer came for another few seconds, Benji continued. "She does know about you, doesn't she?"

"It wasn't the right time yet."

"Are you kidding me? You are able to recall what happened with Brad, do you?"

"This is my business, Benji, thank you very much. I'm not the insecure, homeless and miserable pile of crap I was back then. You have no right to tell me what to do or not." Jesse poked his index finger against Benji's chest.

Benji stared at the hand pushing him. "Yeah, that's just great… Thank you very much, my ass. You know what Jess? I'm outta here. I will not stop processing my feelings in lyrics and I will not play hetero for some marketing campaign. And you shouldn't do either. Tell her." Benji turned, walking in the direction they came from a few hours earlier.

"Well leave, then! Maybe it's better this way!" Jesse yelled angrily after him. When he turned to the rest of the group, he just saw Beca embracing Emily, who looked crestfallen. "Lilly left a few seconds ago, said she'll meet us next practice." Beca mumbled at Jesse's questioning look. "You're ok?"

A sigh left his body. "Yeah. No. I don't know. This didn't go as I expected. Look, about the changes-"

"We'll talk tomorrow. Let's just go home."

* * *

Aubrey was alone in the dorm, sitting on a chair in her and Chloe's kitchen corner and reading her book. She waited for Jesse to pick her up, the Trebles had their appointment at the record studio yesterday and she was keen to hear everything about it. She enjoyed the time alone though; Chloe had already left for being with Beca. The two of them didn't go slow and almost saw each other daily since their first date. It was as if they were made for each other. Aubrey was happy for her roommate, but the permanent cooing and PDA started to go on her nerves a bit. She wasn't sure if it was just something she wasn't made for or if she maybe was a bit jealous. Not that she would admit this. On who, anyway? Or _what? _Aubrey and Jesse just took it slower. A few make out sessions here and there and holding hands. Maybe they would step up their game tonight. She wouldn't mind at all.

At ten past seven, it knocked at the door. She was met with Jesse, who pretty obviously checked her out.

"Hey pretty lady! Ready for takeoff?"

"Hi sweetie, locked and loaded" she grinned, hopes high that no one would ever witness her goofy behavior; Jesse definitely rubbed off on her. She grabbed her bag and with a kiss, they left off.

It wasn't far to Jeffrey's - Jesse had insisted earlier they ate there because it was nearer to some place Aubrey should see. She had never eaten at the pub until now and was surprised that it had at least decent fast food; the nachos were really good.

While they ate, Aubrey talked about her last days and classes. Jesse actually showed interest in her assignments and she was happy to see that he wasn't all careless and dorky but a good listener. She liked this whole development of their relationship and was ready to go all in. More proximity, more _skin contact_. She grabbed his hand on the table and stroked his knuckles with her thumb, smiling at him.

"You're a gorgeous woman, Aubrey" Jesse said softly with a charming smile.

"You're not so bad yourself." She answered with a wink. "So now that I've bored you with my stories, tell me everything about your studio appointment yesterday!" Her voice was full of pride and she was excited to hear about the next steps.

"Hey, you didn't bore me! I wanna know what's up in your life! Besides, at least one of us is going to earn money with a proper job, I'm just someone who devoted his life to unprofitable arts" he joked, putting his flat hand on his chest, which made Aubrey laugh.

"Quit the nonsense and get started!"

Jesse recalled yesterday's events, loosing himself a bit in describing the studio itself and all the _cool stuff_ they got to see. His excitement weakened a bit though when he told about Theo's suggestions and he withheld his fight with Benji.

"So they practically want you to make some major changes regarding your dynamic and style?" Aubrey asked.

"Well, if you put it that way it doesn't sound so good anymore…" Jesse answered quietly.

Aubrey grimaced. "You don't happen to have the contract with you, do you?"

"Actually… yes. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to ruin our date with all this bureaucratic stuff, but something made me think you could be interested."

"You know me all too well. Let's have a look at the conditions…" Aubrey took the documents Jesse handed her and skim-read them. Jesse leaned back and enjoyed watching her focusing on her task. She looked utterly cute with several strands of hair peeking out of her bun, eyes glued on the text and the tip of her tongue stuck between her teeth. When she finished the last page, she blew out a breath and handed the documents back.

"You don't look amused" he said.

"Oh, no I was just thinking. The conditions are pretty… ok, as far as I can tell."

"Pretty ok?"

She swiped a streak out of her face and unconsciously grinded her teeth. "They're actually pretty _good_. There's a fair amount of royalties and a fixed amount for everything produced… You'll get a label-internal songwriter to support you, but you'll have the last word. And you won't have to sell all your rights; at least this is what I make out of it. Not a hundred percent sure yet."

Jesse's face lit up and Aubrey could see the wheels in his head turning. "So d'you think this is something we should pursue?"

"Baby," she put one hand on his knee, "didn't you tell me before that this Theo-guy wants you to mix up more or less your whole concept?" Aubrey tried to tone down his euphoria and interpreted his face falling as success. "What did the others say?"

He looked down, not ready to look into Aubrey's eyes. Beca and Emily raced through his mind.

…_I'm not gonna wear stuff I don't want to… …don't you feel awkward about this…_ Then their faces were replaced by Benji's. …w_hat about being who we are despite what everyone's thinking? _

He wanted this so much. This was everything he dreamed of for the last seven years. This was everything he made those damn pizzas for. "We have yet to discuss this."

Aubrey didn't want to push him but sensed something was off. She would ask Benji about this tomorrow. So instead of urging Jesse, she offered an empathetic smile. "Wasn't there something you wanted to show me?"

He blinked as if he'd just remember why they were sitting in the pub, in a dim corner, not far away from the big table they had occupied as a large group just weeks ago. "Yes! Sorry Bree, let's forget about this whole label stuff. Give me your hand!"

Jesse lead her through the bar to a locked door. He fumbled with some keys and they went upstairs a few stories, only to stop before another door. Another key opened it and Jesse pushed the door open and let Aubrey take the lead.

A fresh breeze caught her, and she tightened her coat. They were on the rooftop of the building; the railing was decorated with several fairy lights and two camping chairs covered in blankets were positioned in a way so one could look over parts of the city.

"I hope you like it?" Jesse asked quietly.

"Are you kidding me? This is beautiful!" Aubrey leaned in and kissed him passionately, leaving him a bit light-headed. Jesse went to the chairs and took some drinks out of the cooler he brought aswell, and they made themselves comfortable, looking down from the roof and enjoying the moonlit night.

...

Meanwhile, Beca and Chloe were in a similar position several stories below and a couple of miles south. They cuddled on the couch in the rehearsal garage and - although there was no need - whispered with one another; in the background you could hear the soft notes of Nada Surf's _Let go_ album. The garage was decorated in the same manner as the rooftop above Jeffrey's and the small colored lights bathed the large room in a warm cozy light.

"Do you have any idea how hot it is when you play the drums?" Chloe asked softly, playing with Beca's hand.

"I may have heard about it…" Beca turned and kissed her. "Got to thank my dad in the end maybe."

Chloe frowned a bit. "How is your dad involved in this?"

"Well, thanks to him I started playing." Beca laughed. "He gave me my first kit when I was eight… I was quite a hand full when I was younger, and it was a good way of releasing some tension. My mum was not that happy but accustomed herself to it eventually."

"So, was there a specific reason or were you just a regular pain in the ass?" Chloe giggled, dodging Beca's attempts to smack her.

"I had my reasons, dude!" She stuck out her tongue to Chloe. "I was just diagnosed with Crohn's disease and had a hard time processing all of it. Had to stay on a diet and there were plenty of hospital visits. Not the nicest thing for a child."

"Oh Baby, I'm so sorry, I didn't know!" Chloe wrapped her arms around Beca, hugging her tightly and kissing her forehead.

"Yeah yeah, you can let go, human straitjacket!"

"Is this why you don't drink?"

"Pretty much. I probably could drink a bit sometimes, but I prefer just not to. It's not as if I crave it or miss the taste" she shrugged. "But I'm doing good currently. My diet is not that strict as it was and I just have to get therapy every two months, so…"

It was quiet for a moment except for the soft background melody. "Thank you for sharing this with me." Chloe whispered. Beca just smiled at her and laid back.

"So… to revisit your hotness, Ms. Mitchell…" Chloe shifted under Beca and their cuddling developed quickly into something more clothes-less.

...

On the rooftop, Aubrey and Jesse had their feet propped up on an old wooden box and gazed into the night sky, enjoying the quiet for a bit. Aubrey noticed that Jesse was nervous though, he kept fiddling with the label of his bottle.

"Everything is going to be alright, sweetie. You'll figure it all out" she said, assuming he was worried about the label issue.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I suppose." He shot her a quick look. "Bree?"

"Hm?"

"You, um, you know I really like you…"

"I really like you too" she quickly answered, taking his hand.

He smiled and continued. "… and I would really like to continue what we have and want to be honest with you on every level."

"Ok?" Aubrey asked; a little insecure of where this conversation was going. Jesse sighed and opened his mouth but got interrupted.

"I want this too, for the protocol. Oh, and if you're talking about you being bisexual, I already know that; I mean you don't really hide that in your songs" she anticipated with a smirk.

"Yeah, I figured." Jesse chuckled. "There's something else though." He took a deep breath with closed eyes.

"Are you a secret vampire band that performs unholy rituals in the practice room if no one's watching? Is this why I've never seen Beca in direct daylight?"

"Aubrey."

"Sorry. I'm listening."

_Just say it_.

…

"Aubrey I'm transgender."

…

…

…

Silence. Lingering between them and increasing over the rooftop, over the railing and engulfing the city; so thick you could cut through it with a knife. With every second it was rattling at Jesse's eardrums and forced him to squeeze his eyes shut, until Aubrey's voice lifted the crushing cover from him.

"I… am not sure I understand what this means."

...

Beca was positioned behind Chloe and held her arms. "No babe, like, hold them near to your body. Yup, like that. And now just tap very softly."

_Tsssssk_

"Like that?" Chloe asked euphorically, turning around on the low stool in front of the drum set.

"Yeah, like that." Beca grinned and kissed her. "You know you don't have to give everything what you have, this is a pretty sensitive thing. And I know you're capable of using your fine motor skills…" Beca whispered in her ear.

"Was that an innuendo coming from you?" Chloe laughed and lowered her arms, "do you think you can have sex on a drum kit?" she asked Beca seductively, her voice a bit lower.

Beca frowned immediately and wanted to start a speech about no fornication on her biggest treasure, when she felt her phone vibrating. She reached in her pocket and pulled it out, already expecting a text by now.

_Jesse [22:43]: I told her. she left. can we meet?_

She eyed Chloe. "Hold that thought, fox. And before you get your hopes up: no, you can't, and we won't. Listen… I'm really sorry but this is Jesse, he needs a friend right now."

* * *

**A/U2:**

Regarding Crohn's disease: Beware that there are many forms of this disease out there; Beca's disease is "inspired" by a colleague of mine. Although he's not as strict as Beca and drinks too much for his own good ~.~

Regarding Jesse: His storyline is _based on_ the experience of an acquaintance of mine. This is _one_ story of _one _human being. Things I write here don't apply for every transhuman. I'm not trans myself, so I'm not in the position to talk about this from a firsthand experience. If there is something that is bothering you or offending anyone - in this chapter or in the following chapters - please pm me.


	11. Chapter 11

**[A/N1]: **Revised version (same content)

What up! Real life, work, yada yada. It takes some time, but this will be finished someday. Let's have a little drama in the last ~third of it. Anyway, thank you all for sticking with me! :)

I don't own anything PP or music related. Leave a review. Or don't. Be happy and free :)

**TW: trans outing, homophobic slurs and implied (homophobic) violence **

* * *

**Chapter 11 - Coming down to earth**

Chloe took off Beca's sweater and fetched her own clothes while Beca re-arranged the couch corner and gathered their leftovers from dinner.

"I'm really sorry to cut this short, I'll make it up to you" Beca said while she balanced their plates.

"Hey, as I said, don't worry. You're being a good friend and I would do the same" Chloe replied. She approached Beca and pulled her at the collar to kiss her. "Wasn't he with Aubrey tonight? Should I worry?"

"Yeah he was. And no, I don't think so. But maybe you'll make sure to check on Aubrey"

"_Check_ on her? Why?"

Beca sighed, torn between telling her girlfriend the reason or staying out of this. She decided against the first option. "Look babe… it's really not my story to tell, but I promise it's nothing bad, ok?"

Chloe looked in Beca's eyes for a few seconds and saw nothing but honesty and trust. She surprised herself again how deep she'd already fallen for Beca and would believe her everything; do practically everything she wanted from her.

"Okay," she pecked Beca on her nose. "I'll go then. Text me if something comes up." Chloe took her bag and went for the door that lead to Paula's.

"Will do babe, thank you. Oh hey, catch!" Beca said, waiting for Chloe to turn around. When she did, Beca threw her car keys in Chloe's direction and she caught them in one smooth motion. "Please, take my van. I don't want my girl to walk home alone this time of the day. Jesse can drive me to campus later."

Chloe smiled and blew her a kiss before turning to the door leading into the backyard. "_Your girl_, huh? Call me, hot stuff."

Twenty minutes later, Beca heard Jesse arriving by the sound of him unlocking the door. She threw the magazine she browsed in on the table and turned around. "Hey big boy."

"Hey there." His voice sounded soft and exhausted.

"How did it go?"

"Well, um… she didn't really break up with me, which is good, I think. Said she needed time to process everything and… yeah. It was okay." He turned to the small room leading outside and came back with two drinks. Then he got himself comfortable next to Beca and started talking. "So, we went up on Jeffrey's roof…"

"_Aubrey I'm transgender."_

…

…

…

"_I… am not sure I understand what this means."_

_Jesse breathed out. "It means… that I wasn't born as Jesse… I was assigned female at birth."_

"_Oh." Just the smallest sound escaped Aubrey, he couldn't tell if it was a sound of surprise, comprehension or rejection. Then the silence came back and he was determined to not let it take over again._

"_Do… um, do you have like… questions? Or… are you…" He tried to make out an emotion of Aubrey's face, but she just looked unaffected into the night. "Okay, I'm just going to talk, and you can ask anything if you want to, okay?"_

_Aubrey's eyes flickered to his for a second before returning to their prior position. He took it as an approval and readjusted himself in his chair, sitting on his hands to warm them._

"_Ok… so I was ten when I realized that something was… wrong. I could not put my finger on it, but I couldn't identify with any girl in school, or with anything I should become according to my parents, or society. It only got worse when puberty hit, and my body started to change. I hated everything about it. How I felt all soft and squishy and…" he swallowed. The break caused Aubrey to turn to him, but he couldn't bear to look into her eyes, so he lowered his own to the ground._

"_It just wasn't _me_. It was like living in the body of a stranger. So often did I wish to be able to just… jump out of it. Leave this _shell_. I was overwhelmed with all these emotions that nobody else seemed to have, at least not to this extent. Everyone would always tell me what a beautiful woman I was going to be and just the mere thought of it made me wanna puke. I knew something was wrong, but I was the only one who could see that. Over time I got really depressed and turned away from my friends. Isolated myself… then someday our guidance counselor in high school approached me. Wouldn't be here if it weren't for her." His thoughts trailed back for a few seconds._

"_What did she do?" came Aubrey's voice, small and quiet._

_Jesse took her interest as a positive sign, so he continued._

"_She saved me. Listened to me. Got me into an LGBT youth group in the area." He smiled remembering his former companions. "At some point my parents came to know about me going there. They were… _are_… pretty conservative. I could convince them that I would just accompany a friend and they didn't speak to him ever again." He looked up in the night sky. "Eventually they found out everything. Small town gossip. In the end they kicked me out, so I stayed with someone from the group." _

_He heard Aubrey taking a sharp breath. "I'm sorry", she said almost whispering._

_Jesse chuckled ironically. "Well it was for the best. Maybe nothing of all this would have happened if I had stayed there."_

_They sat like this for a few minutes. Silence took over, but it was different now. Aubrey was still there. She had plenty of time to leave and yet, she was sitting next to him._

"_Can I… can I ask you something?" she whispered._

"_Please."_

"_I'm sorry I… don't know anything regarding all this. How… how does it come you look like… you?"_

_He rearranged his legs and took a deep breath. "I take hormones. Testosterone. For almost six years now; it helped altering my body, voice and hair growth for example."_

"_What about…" Aubrey trailed off a bit embarrassed. "… you know, your…" A cough. Gnawing on nails._

"_It's okay, you can ask."_

"… _your parts?" she ended her question._

"_Well concerning my upper body… I got them off a few years ago. It's called mastectomy. It looks pretty good though. I got lucky with those scars" he said shrugging, trying to lighten the mood a bit while knowing they hadn't done anything more than fully clothed make-out sessions. He looked at her for the first time in the last twenty minutes. Aubrey fumbled with her hands in her lap and he could tell that this explanation only answered part of her question._

"_The rest is… still original" he added a few moments later._

"_Do the others know?"_

_When Jesse furrowed his brows, she added "Well not about… the part-thing but about the whole thing?"_

_His face relaxed again. "Yeah, I mean the Trebles all know. Beca just said something like 'whatever dude' and carried on. Lilly mumbled something about the importance of body and mind being in harmony, and Benji and Emily… I know them for like about 4 years now? They supported me a lot, especially Benji. They're like family." His emotions ran high and with mentions of his friend, tears filled his eyes. "I was awful to him."_

"_What do you mean?" she asked irritated._

"_Benji and I… we had a fight yesterday about the label stuff. I said some ugly things and we parted ways yelling."_

"_I'm sure you can fix this, ba-,… Jesse."_

_A sharp sting went through his chest as he noticed her taking back the pet name. "Hope so." _

_He snuffled and wiped his tears away. He had one question, one tiny little question with an answer that would decide how their future would look like. If they had one._

"_What do you think?" he asked in a way that didn't allow any latitude about the meaning. He put his hand on his knee to be in range for Aubrey to take it if she wanted. She turned in his direction but refused to look into his eyes._

_._

_._

"_I don't know."_

Jesse took a large gulp from his bottle and shrugged. "Rest is history."

"I'm proud of you, dude." Beca nudged her fist on his shoulder. "I can only relate up to a certain point, but I always thought it was good to clear things up. Be yourself."

"You're probably right, but right now… the truth hurts worse than anything I could bring myself to do to her."

"Hey! You're not doing anything _wrong_. Neither to her nor in general. You're honest and you deserve to be yourself. And if _you_ wanna be with her then she needs to know. The natural way everything went… her finding out was inevitable at some point, wasn't it? And she'll come back; she'll have to. Can't let you chaos of a human go unsupervised!"

"I'm pretty good at taking care of myself, if I may remind you."

"Ew, TMI bro!"

Jesse laughed at her bad joke, much more than necessary. Infected by his reaction, Beca joined him and they worked themselves up until the point of having tears in their eyes. When they finally calmed down, Jesse laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, I want to apologize for saying the stuff about what you're wearing, it was more than stupid. And for being a douche in general yesterday."

"Whatever, dude" she replied with a smirk. "You can make it up to me by driving me home later."

"Absolutely. Like…now? Cause I probably have some ideas for a song and need to get them out of my system..."

"Shoot" Beca said and grabbed a pen and a notepad.

* * *

One and a half week later, Stacie, Chloe, Aubrey and Benji sat together in the cafeteria for lunch. They got a table only for them and Aubrey paired up with Benji, while Chloe ate next to Stacie.

"Hey, didn't you have an appointment at this label, Ben? How was it? I totally forgot." Stacie asked while seasoning her meal. Chloe stopped chewing and her eyes wandered to Aubrey's, who looked equally embarrassed. Benji continued eating and just hummed confirmatively.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Stacie questioned, looking from one friend to another.

When Benji stayed quiet, Chloe swallowed her food and answered. "Didn't Emily tell you?"

"No, we didn't… it didn't come up." The truth was that there was no communication at all since the soccer game about two weeks ago. No texts, no calls, no… _meetings_. Stacie missed Emily but was too proud to initiate anything. _And maybe too scared about the outcome. _"Okay guys, this is awkward, what the hell happened?"

Chloe looked at Benji for help, she wasn't sure if she should be the one telling the story if she hasn't even been there in person. He took a napkin, cleaned his mouth and dropped the small sheet on his empty dish.

"It was… _interesting_." He said slowly. "Look. The label is okay, the producer is an idiot and I don't know what comes next. You could say Jesse was impressed by the whole thing; I'd say he was a douchebag. Didn't talk to him since."

"Oh, wow. I'm sorry? This must have been a great chance for you…" Stacie said sympathetically.

"Maybe. But I won't compromise my principles for something like that. Or anything else…" Benji stood up and took his tray. "Not to be a spoilsport, but I got to stop by the library before class. See you later."

After he had left, the tension at the table cleared distinctly.

"Okay, this explains his grumpy behavior the last weeks. Sounds pretty ugly to me?" Stacie asked.

"Yeah, this producer seems to be a big asshole. He wants to use Jesse and Benji as some kind of showpiece girl dream and insisted that their songs should be more party-suitable or whatever." Chloe said and took a sip from her protein shake.

"Huh. Well I know someone who would kill every girl dreaming of her man, wouldn't you agree Chlo?" Stacie purred, looking at Aubrey. The blonde just swallowed and mumbled a short "sure", before focusing on the rest of her meal.

"Okay what else has happened in the last two weeks? Have I been in a coma and can't remember?" Stacie asked irritated and raised her hands expectantly. Before her friends could answer, her phone chirped. She took it out and was surprised that she got two messages from Emily.

_Emily [12:43]: hey… how r u?_

_Emily [12:43]: I think it was ugly how things went at the game. can we pls talk?_

Stacie read them twice and she could feel her heart beat faster. Yes, she's been mad at Emily for being close with army guy… but they weren't together like that. Nevertheless, it had felt like she was in high school all over again, seeing Emily with him, dropping Stacie like a hot stone. She took a deep breath and answered.

_Stacie [12:45]: I'm free tonight, should I come over?_

_Emily [12:45]: me too, sounds good :)_

Okay, this wasn't so hard. Maybe they could just forget about everything and continue where they had left off. She put her phone away and looked up, only to see Aubrey gone.

"Oh, she had to leave, something about not being late for English. Wanna get some desert?" Chloe asked her happily.

* * *

It was already dark when Stacie took the steps to the door and rang the bell. A few seconds later, Emily opened. She wore some sweatpants and a short top, which only added to her sexiness in Stacie's eyes. _Calm down. You haven't even talked yet._

"Hi Stace."

"Hi."

They looked at each other, unmoving.

"Can I…?" Stacie asked slowly, not sure if this was going to be a much shorter talk than anticipated.

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, of course. Let's head upstairs."

They went into Emily's room and when the door closed, both started to talk at the same time.

"I'm sorry-"

"Chicago's gone-"

"Okay, you go first" Emily said and seated herself on the bed across from Stacie.

"Um, ok." _Inhale._ "I'm sorry for being rude at the game. You can do whatever you want, and I know were not exclusive or something. So, have fun I guess?" Stacie stated scarcely.

Emily folded her hands in her lap. "Okay." She tucked her hair behind her ears and struggled for words. "See, Chicago's gone. He left a few days ago, had to be back for duty. I just want you to know that I never slept with him. Did we make out? Yes. Did I like it? Yes, he's sweet and good looking and charming-"

"Okay I'm not getting your point here" Stacie interrupted; she had no intention of listening about anything of that.

"Sorry. What I want to say is…" Emily exhaled. "It felt good to have him here and to see he's interested in me. But after the game… I realized that I don't want _him_." She looked at Stacie. "I know we're having this no strings attached thing and you don't do relationships and I'm probably not someone you want to break this rule with-"

"Em,-"

"… but I think I like you and it might not be enough for me anymore."

Stacie frowned. She hadn't expected this at all; she had thought that they would just end their quarreling and hook up again.

"Are you saying you want to be with me?"

Emily played with the straps of her sweater. "I think I do."

Stacie's head spun; a thousand thoughts were fighting in her head. _Don't do it, you'll fool yourself. Do it, you like her. No, she'll leave, just like the others. She wouldn't do that._

"You don't have to say anything now, you can think about this and-"

"Okay."

As soon as the word left her mouth, Stacie looked up, a bit surprised by herself.

"Okay?" Emily whispered and a small smile formed on her lips.

"Yeah. I mean. You're not so bad."

"Hey!" Emily's smile changed into a grin and she threw a pillow after Stacie, which caused the older one to get up and join her on the bed.

...

Benji took a turn and approached the club he had visited a few times before. He got in and was immediately surrounded by loud, thumping music when he went to the bar. He ordered himself a gin tonic and took out his phone to open the last messages he had received.

_Hot guy [17:01]: you know the vertigo? it's on the 24__nd__ next to the barber. be there at 21:30 ;)_

_Benjamin [17:12]: got it, I'll meet you there ;)_

_Hot guy [21:23]: sorry I'll be a bit late. get yourself a drink _

_Benjamin [21:25]: hurry up ;)_

He put his phone away and looked around. Although it was still early, there were a few people on the dancefloor; mostly girls who were surrounded by a few guys who tried getting lucky tonight. He took a few sips from his drink and decided to bridge the waiting time outside. Benji walked through the club, past the dancefloor and some tables and opened the door leading to the back exit. Outside, he lit a cigarette and looked up in the night sky. The last time he was here, he was accompanied by Jesse. Moron. Maybe he should call him tomorrow and ask if he was thinking clear again.

One after the other, the fellow visitors who were out there with him slowly returned inside. He was alone for a moment and thought about writing another message, when he heard male voices coming nearer.

"…yeah it's him! I told you he's one of those rock band fags playing at Jeffrey's!"

Benji looked up, his pulse rising with the last words. Two large men approached him from the street, one with a prominent blonde undercut and side parting. Benji turned to the door to head inside, but a third guy already stood there, blocking his way. "You already wanna leave sissi? Let's see if you're still able when were finished."

Aubrey's words floated in his head. _…trapped in a dark alley confronted with some creepy divination…_

_Fuck._

...

Emily laid in Stacie's arms and snuggled her naked body further into the woman behind her. She held Stacie's hand and played with her fingers, enjoying the calm moment.

"This is nice..." Stacie whispered into her ear and she hummed back in agreement. ".. but I'm afraid I have to go soon, Em. Tomorrow's a busy day and I think your parents will come back before long, won't they?"

"Probably…" Emily answered and turned around. "Promise this isn't you trying to flee?" she asked shyly with a small grin.

"I promise. How about you stay over at my dorm this weekend and we'll only leave the bed if necessary?" Stacie replied and kissed the tip of Emily's nose. Then she slid out of bed and started getting dressed.

"I think I'd like that very much."

"It's a date then" Stacie winked back.

Emily stood up as well and took some of her clothes. "Who would have thought that I got the famous Stacie-I-don't-settle-Conrad to date me?"

"Don't push your luck, sweetie. After-sex pride isn't always an excuse…" Stacie said and put her arms around the younger girl.

"I'm just testing my boundaries." Emily whispered and nibbled at Stacie's neck. "I was obviously more successful than just having _stacied_ you, huh?"

Stacie frowned. "What?"

Emily swallowed. _You fucking dumb idiot. _"Nothing." She winced internally.

"What do you mean, _stacied_?" Stacie let go of her and stepped back.

"Nothing, it was just a stupid joke between Benji and me" she tried to downplay the situation.

"Oh, then please tell me."

Emily went her fingers through her hair and thought of how she could explain this without looking like an asshole. It wouldn't work probably.

"Listen, it was just a dumb bet when we had our first gig; Benji told me you had asked about me and he wanted to see if I could get you all hot and bothered like you do it all the time with people."

"Like _I do it all the time_?" Stacie asked angrily; she may be overreacting but couldn't care less right now.

"Okay this came out wrong, but-"

"Yeah, no, it's ok. Is this-" Stacie signed between them, "part of this _bet_? Will you get more out of it now that I agreed on dating you?" She took her bag and left the room, heading for the stairs.

"No, it was just this one time; I didn't know you like I do now, and I stopped it when we sat together that evening!" Emily followed her downstairs.

"Oh, if you put it that way, I can't be angry anymore… So you didn't accept any profit for it? Stacie turned and stood face to face with Emily, who couldn't say anything. She had taken the money. She thought it was a bit funny at that time. She didn't expect this development. Or for Stacie to react so starkly. She looked in Stacie's eyes, pleading for understanding.

"Thought so." Stacie turned to the door and walked out. "Don't text me."

"Stacie, please! Don't leave! It's not what you think, please! Stacie!" Emily begged, tears flooding down her face, but the older one had already left the front yard.

Stacie walked to her car, took out her phone and dialed Benji's number. It went to mailbox after several seconds. "Hey Benjamin, I hope you have a _great_ evening. I'm just calling to let you know that I'll change your contact name into _arrogant asshole_, since you Applebaums think you're so funny placing bets on _friends_." She got in her car and hit the steering wheel several times, letting go of the tears she held back. _Fooled yourself… _a small voice in her head said.

...

Across the city, Benji's phone lit up after it had rung a few times.

[_One new mailbox entry]_

Benji noticed the broken display lighting up in the corner of his eye. He tried to grab it, but everything hurt; everything was blurry. He was cold, laying on the concrete. Warm liquid ran down his face. When his vision started to fade, he heard a muffled voice.

"Oh my god, hey buddy can you hear me?"

* * *

**[A/U2]:** Oh boy, poor Stacie and Benji. It was a bit hard to write, but those arcs were planned since ch. 3 or something?

Song hint: FOB - I've got all this ringing on my ears and none on my fingers

Regarding Jesse: As stated in the last chapter, this is _one_ story that is _based on_ the experience of an acquaintance. This is in no way an explanation or story for every trans being and remember: everyone has their own background. I'm just an n/b bean who tries to tell a story. If there's anything bothering you, pm me!


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N1: **Urgh, finally! Sorry, busy as hell. This chapter is dialogue, dialogue, dialogue. I'm afraid I had to split it, because imho it would be more convenient to read and I didn't want to make you wait longer. Already writing the next one, no worries. Thanks again for your kind words!

I don't own anything PP or music related. Leave a review. Or don't. Be happy and free. :)

* * *

**Chapter 12 - Communication is key**

The message about Benji spread like a wildfire, starting with Emily calling Jesse and ending with Chloe texting her friends. He had been taken to the hospital with two broken ribs, severe bruising and a nasty laceration on his head, and just his closest kinship was allowed to see him. When his condition improved a few days later, the visitor constraint was removed though.

Jesse, Beca and Lilly moved any occurring appointments or lectures and gathered in the hospital as soon as they could. They went upstairs to the respective ward and Jesse looked at his notes while they passed several rooms. "Here it is…" He approached the door and knocked, to peek in a few seconds later. Emily sat there with her parents; her mother waved and spoke up when she saw him at the door.

"Well, I think it's time dad and I make room for the next visitors. Emily, honey, we'll meet for dinner I suppose?"

"Yup."

Recognizing her short and absent-minded answer, her mom ruffled her hair sympathetically and they said goodbye to Benji, who managed to thank them for their visit quietly. When they reached the door, Emily's mom greeted Jesse silently by hugging him, followed by her dad, who pat Jesse's back with a short "What's up, son".

The Trebles entered the small room and took a seat, waving at Benji, who eyed them happy. Jesse stood awkwardly in front of the bed and looked at his best friend. A bandage was wrapped around his head. He had a black eye and looked small in the large hospital bed, which was surrounded by tubes running under the blankets, their ends not on view. An IV bag stood next to him, connected to his hand via another tube.

"Hey douchebag" Benji mumbled.

Jesse waved shy. "Hi buddy."

They remained this way for a while and the others stayed silent as well, the silence only interrupted by the ticking sound of the clock on the wall. Until Beca had enough.

"Jesus, will you hug already? Ben; Jesse is sorry and knows he was an idiot. Jesse; Ben forgives and misses you."

Jesse huffed. "…she's right, you know. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, she is. I forgave you already-" Benji breathed shortly, he had a few difficulties to speak, "-arriving here with that stupid box of candy."

"Oh, that." He looked at the box in his hand concentrated. "Yeah, um, it looked good in the gift shop downstairs?" It _had_ looked better downstairs.

"I bet."

Jesse threw the box on the small table in the corner. "Listen, Beca and I already talked about this and I'm sure _you_," he eyed the others as well, "agree when I say screw this Theo guy and his ideas. A few things happened, with you lying here leading the way, that made me realize the most important thing is that we have us. And that we can rely on us." He took a few steps and hold Benji tight, kissing him on the forehead. "I'm very happy that you're still in one piece."

Benji took one of his hands and squeezed it to show Jesse they were on the same page again. The peaceful atmosphere was interrupted by Lilly, who sat on an armchair in the corner, legs over the armrest, spinning her keychain. "Will you tell us what happened, piano man?"

"Only if you promise not to take law into your own hands."

"What? Surely you wouldn't, Lilly!" Emily said irritated, while Lilly just shrugged and continued to spin her keys. "Just give the word."

"I already had the pleasure to talk to my and her parents-" Benji gestured to Emily by lifting his arm a few inches, "and we decided to press charges. I remember their faces a bit. The police were here yesterday."

Emily swallowed. She had been present when their families had discussed it and a familiar feeling seized her when Benji had described the appearance of his tormentors. However, she had not wanted to talk about that with her parents being there, afraid of having to justify herself. Additionally, the whole thing with Stacie bothered her to no end and she already ran low on energy, let alone being able to have such a talk with her parents. But… the Trebles wouldn't judge her, would they? They were like big siblings.

"…about that, Ben…"

Benji eyed her expectantly.

"I… I think I, um, _know_ that one guy."

"What? How?" Jesse cut in.

Emily squirmed but knew there was no turning back now. "Um… ok, remember our first gig at Jeffrey's?" They nodded in unison. "And… remember that I left the table at one point?" Now, just Lilly nodded. "…ok whatever, I just did ok? And I-" she cringed, this was a bit more embarrassing than she thought, "I waited for Stacie at the gum dispenser when this guy showed up and like… threatened me."

Beca turned to her confused. "What the hell? Em, why didn't you say anything?" she asked and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Nothing really happened. I mean it was scary, but… Stacie just knocked him out."

"Huh. Remind me to side with her for the future" Beca said impressed. "Promise though to tell us if anything like that - and I really hope it does not - happens again?"

"Yes." Emily replied, staring at the ground.

"Hey," Benji started, "it's okay! I'm sorry you had to experience this. Do you… do you think you'd be able to tell the police the story again?"

His cousin just nodded, and he gave her a tired smile. "Thank you. We'll let them come here again, so I'll be at your side, ok? So, about what happened…"

Benji recalled the incident and only got interrupted a few times by Jesse or Beca, who voiced their outrage very vocal. He was clearly exhausted after and happy when the others decided to chat for a while and he listened quietly. A bit later, Emily and Lilly said their goodbyes and Jesse and Beca remained.

The three friends sat in silence when Jesse mumbled quietly. "I told her; you know."

Benji knew what he was talking about and nudged him softly. "Good job. How did she take it?"

"Hm. So-so. She needs some time to process."

"She's crazy about you, bud. I can't remember her being with someone for so long without any complaint. She would be insane to let you go."

"That's what I said!" Beca agreed while adjusting her snap back.

Before Jesse could respond, the door opened, and someone entered the room with his back first. "… it took all of my seduction skills - which are pretty convincing I have to say - and I managed to get you two slices of apple pie for desert and-" the nurse turned around, holding a tray in his hands, "there are still visitors in this room who will now probably think I'm awkward" he ended his sentence while looking at Beca and Jesse.

Benji only chuckled and immediately winced at the pain coming from his ribs. It subsided a moment later and he went on. "Guys, this is Nurse Allen-"

"I already told you to call me Bumper" the man interrupted him smiling.

"-this is Bumper. Bumper, these are Beca and Jesse." Benji introduced them, and they greeted each other.

"Since you're having company, I'll just put this here and leave you alone. Beca, Jesse. _Benjamin_." Bumper winked secretly, put the tray aside and left the room.

Once the door was closed, Jesse couldn't hold it any longer. "Are you going to explain why we get to know your future husband just now?" He asked with a smirk, while Beca just nodded with raised eyebrows.

"Calm down guys, we just met after I woke up a few days ago."

"You should ask him out."

"Yeah, how sexy is that, having my body connected to some tubes and wearing this thing on my head." Benji's eyes shot up, signing to his head bandage.

"Not forever? You said the catheter would come off tomorrow! Come on, he's cute!" Jesse prompted persuasively.

"I don't even know if he swings that way."

Beca snorted. "Dude, have you heard him speaking about those _seduction_ _skills_ and how he pronounced your name? _Benjamin? _My gaydar is pretty oblivious but even _I_ think you don't have to worry about that." She replied and high-fived with Jesse, who held his hand up grinning.

Benji sighed. "Ok, I'll think about it."

"That's the spirit!" Jesse cheered and shoved Benji enthusiastically, who grunted a painful "_still broken"_ as an answer.

"Fuck, sorry!"

"Yeah yeah. Look I'm glad you've been here, but I'm really tired now, how about you go and do… whatever you do?" Benji asked after the pain faded.

"Yes sir! But - one more thing and I think we should do this together, being core members and all…" Jesse started and waited for Beca's and Benji's attention. "We should call Main Cold Records and turn down the offer."

With the permission of his friends, Jesse dialed the number and got put through after a few minutes. The phone was on speaker, so Benji and Beca could hear Theo's disappointment when he realized he just lost a potential client. It changed to viciousness very quickly however when he got told _why_ the Trebles would decline the offer. Jesse's friends couldn't agree more when their front man told Theo in a very friendly way to go fuck himself.

* * *

A day later, Chloe, Aubrey and Stacie rushed through the hospital ward as well, led by Aubrey. She was quick to carefully hug her injured friend when they entered Benji's room.

"Ben, oh my god, I'm so sorry that this happened. How do you feel? Do you need anything? Do they treat you right? I'll sue everyone who doesn't treat you with respect!"

Benji just chuckled and spoke with a soothing voice. "Aubrey, calm down, everything is gonna be alright. Everyone here is friendly, _as I already told you on the phone_, and I'm pretty sure you can't sue _anyone_ yet. I appreciate the offer though."

"I brought you my English notes and my seminar paper!"

Benji huffed grinning. "Your… okay, well I don't think I'll look at them today or tomorrow but thank you Bree. Don't worry, I won't copy it." He took a brief look at the sheets. "Wow, you even managed to elaborate your notes instead of using shorthand."

"Since you still need to practice that, I was willing to take the risk of having a cramp in my hand." Aubrey replied and winked.

Behind them, Chloe showed up. "While I'm sorry to ruin you BFF moment here, we'd like to say hello, too… hi Benji!" she called and waved.

With a smile he greeted Chloe and Stacie as well. Stacie stood in the background on purpose. She just waved shyly and tried to analyze the situation. She didn't know if Benji had the opportunity to listen to his voicemail yet. It still bothered her that he was involved in this stupid bet, but she felt awful for leaving this message. She couldn't wrap her head about the fact that this _could_ have been the last thing she said to him. Her friend however showed no signs of being aware of her words in the past.

Since Benji was freed from the _embarrassing_ part of tubes a few hours ago and only needed a transportable IV bag, they decided to move to the garden behind the hospital. He got better every day, but it was obvious that Benji needed to be transferred into a wheelchair for this, as he was allowed to move only as little as possible. Bumper managed to lift him out of his bed and into the chair without any sweat, leaving with a smile for the group and another wink for Benji.

They left the elevator on ground level as Aubrey eventually addressed the nurse situation teasingly. "So, this Bumper… is he this happy to be of service with all his patients or especially with you?"

Benji sighed. "You, too? Let me have my peace, folks…"

"What do you mean, too? And I'm actually a bit confused that Stacie-" Aubrey turned her head in the brunettes direction, "-hasn't already made like a thousand suggestive comments about the flirty tension between you two."

Stacie just looked back and shrugged. "I'm just not in the mood for this lately."

"Please say that again and let me record this; _the_ Stacie Conrad not in the mood for sexual hints?"

"Quite the shocker, huh." Stacie replied plainly and continued to walk along, leaving the others behind.

Chloe, who was not a friend of the following awkward silence, took up the issue again and leaned to Benji after eyeing Stacie irritated. "I think you would be cute together. How he lifted you up bridal style was a great picture."

"Will you stop it if I promise to talk to him before I'm discharged?" Benji groaned playfully; he could not deny that it had felt good in his arms.

"Maybe." Chloe chirped and they made their way outside into the sun.

...

After a couple of hours chatting, laughing and discussing the latest development in Aubrey's and Benji's English class (in which a student who called herself Kommissar frequently managed to drive Prof. Mitchell up the wall), they called it a day and returned to Benji's room. Bumper again offered his help to transfer Benji to bed, while being watched by the three women extensively. He eventually asked if something was wrong, his face lightly pink, but was quickly convinced that they were just happy for his helping hand. His farewell to Benji with the promise to be back for dinner did not help to die down their exciting giggle.

Aubrey and Chloe had already made their way to the door and shouted a last goodbye to their friend, when Benji asked Stacie to stay back for a second. He waited for the door to close.

"Hey. I just want you to know that I listened to my voicemail" Benji said softly while grabbing Stacie's hand. "I'm really, really sorry about the whole thing." He exhaled. "Emily told me."

Stacie opened her mouth and closed it again. She swallowed. "Look Benji, I… It was not okay. I was just so angry and… I mean what if they wouldn't have stopped? What if they would have just continued to beat you up and… it could have been my last words. Please forgive me."

"I already did, Stace. I'm just worried that you won't forgive _her_."

"I'm not sure I can." Stacie whispered; the thought of being betrayed emerged again.

"Hate me instead. It was my stupid idea after all."

Stacie gave him a tight smile. "But everything _after_ wasn't." She brushed a tear away and squeezed his hand. "Have a good night, Ben. I look forward to see you on campus again."

When she stepped out of the room, Chloe and Aubrey already expected her. Chloe saw her upset face and took a step forward.

"We need to talk."

* * *

The three friends settled down on the small couch in Chloe's and Aubrey's apartment with beer after ordering dinner and putting on some music, which happened to be The Kooks' _Inside In/Inside Out_ album. Stacie propped her feet onto the wooden box slash couch table that sat in front of her, only for having them kicked off by Aubrey. She rolled her eyes and crossed her legs.

"So, Chloe, no Beca-time tonight?"

"No, she's got homework and I texted her that we had some long-needed girls' night. I should greet you though."

"Long needed, huh?" Stacie asked, looking from Chloe to Aubrey, who sat in silence. They were friends of course, but Aubrey was never a pal who needed special bonding time, at least not with her. Chloe was another thing, although they saw each other often due to their almost matching practice schedules.

"Yes, needed. There are a few things we need to address." Chloe said with a side glance to Aubrey. "But first things first. Look, Aubrey and I noticed that you were off the last days. And although Benji means a lot to all of us, he is not really the reason, is he? Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Stacie's eyes flickered between her two friends and Chloe recognized her hesitation. "You don't _have_ to talk, but just as a future reference-", another side glance to Aubrey, "this is a safe space. There won't be any judgement."

Stacie sighed deeply. "God damn it Beale… Okay." She breathed in. "I may have fallen for Emily, but she screwed me over and I broke up with her after we dated for like three hours."

Aubrey let out a surprised noise and Chloe was taken aback by her statement but recovered quickly. "Um, okay. Okay! Wow, this was not was I expected, but-" she cleared her throat, "-I'm glad you opened up. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Wait, what _did _you expect?"

"I don't know, something like having stress in classes, problems with the cheer squad or being sexually unsatisfied?" Chloe confessed. When Stacie scoffed offended, she raised her hands apologetically. "I'm sorry, this was obviously wrong and I'm here to be your best friend and listen to you. So please tell me, us, what's going on?"

"Urgh, whatever." Stacie fumbled with the label of her beer. "Apparently this is what you do on a girls' night now…" She told Chloe and Aubrey the whole story, starting from their first night watching the Treblemakers and ending with her storming off the Applebaum's front yard. She skipped the voicemail part however; this was something between Benji and her. When she finished, tears rolled down her face.

"Oh sweetie, come here." Chloe sat next to her and hugged her, rocking her lightly.

"I just don't know what to do… I really like her, but I can't trust her anymore" Stacie sobbed lightly.

For the first time this evening, Aubrey cut in. "Stace… I really don't want to come off harsh and I really say that as a friend! …As someone not emotionally invested in this it just sounds like some minor mistake to me. Yeah, it was a dick move to trick you, but it doesn't sound too awful. Just a taste of your own medicine? I mean you _do_ flirt with almost everyone and a lot of what you say is suggestive or has some kind of innuendo. So what, she teased you and got you flattered. It's not as if you'd miss out on anything do you?"

"If everyone thinks that, I did a pretty good job." Stacie whispered.

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked with a raised eyebrow.

Stacie exhaled through her nose. "Well it's just what everyone should think. I don't sleep around. You were my last before Emily" she said, looking up to Chloe.

"Wait a minute, _you_ _two_ slept together?" Aubrey asked staggered, signing between them with wide eyes.

"Calm down, Bree. It was during our freshman year. Good as lovers, better off as friends" Chloe replied while rolling her eyes and Aubrey shut her mouth again. "Back to you." She turned to Stacie. "Why would you have everyone believe this if it's not true?"

"I don't know… it felt safe? It felt strong. Like I made my own decisions and was in control. I had a few bad experiences with feelings and relationships in high school."

Neither Chloe nor Aubrey said a thing and waited for Stacie to elaborate.

Another sigh escaped Stacie. Her friends were a great example for a pain in the ass right now, but it felt indeed good to talk about this. "So, I had a huge crush on this guy in my sophomore year. He was one of the 'cool guys'," she made air quotes, "and many girls were after him. Long story short, he ended up being my first but quit it afterwards. Said he couldn't afford to be seen with me since I was too much of a 'wallflower' and would ruin his rep."

Stacie took a sip from her beer and continued. "In the next year of school, my lab partner and I spent a lot of time together and eventually admitted that we had feelings for each other. She and I were secretly together, and it was really sweet, but when her parents found out, she denied everything and started ghosting me. She broke my heart… so I swore to myself not to do relationships anymore." A few seconds of silence elapsed before Stacie continued.

"At the end of my senior year, I had this fling with a guy. We did it a few times, but he caught feelings. When I told him I wouldn't reciprocate, he tripped and spread the rumor of me being the school slut. I was glad when high school was over." She chuckled bitterly end downed her drink. "Wow, look at me killing all the happy vibes of our girls' night."

Chloe was stunned, but Aubrey was quick to jump in. "Stacie this sounds awful! I'm really sorry for you. I know I can't make it unhappen, but just know that if I could, I'd kick their asses and tar and feather them in front of the whole town. You deserve so much better."

"Thank you, Bree."

Chloe recovered herself and nodded forcefully. "Count me in. _They_ didn't deserve _you_." She caressed Stacie's face and smiled affectionately. They remained seated on the couch for a few minutes, the only sound coming off the cd player and their breathing.

Eventually Chloe spoke up. "I get that you're afraid Emily has joined forces with those assholes in the past… but I really think she's one of the good guys. She made a mistake, but maybe you're biased?"

Stacie shrugged. "You think I should give her a chance?"

"Yes. And I don't think she's the only one deserving." Chloe turned her head to Aubrey and gave her a meaningful look. Stacie followed her line of sight and raised a brow.

"What's going on?"

Now it was Aubrey's turn to sigh. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something,-" she got interrupted by the door bell and gratefully stood up. "-but first, we need some food."

* * *

...almost forgot: Since Bumper is often depicted as a bad guy in FF, I just want to say that "my" Bumper is more of an Andy-from-Modern-Family-type. Love him.


	13. Chapter 13

**[A/N1]: **Chapter 13 is here, yay! Thanks everyone for comments, favs and follows.

It's still the same weekend, but the plot advances soon.

I don't own nothing but the plot. Leave a review. Or don't. Be happy and free :)

* * *

**Chapter 13 - Secure the bag**

Stacie swallowed her last piece of pizza and threw her napkin on the table. She stood up to get another round of beer for everyone and positioned herself on the couch to take up on the conversation earlier.

"Okay Bree, what did you wanna talk about?"

Aubrey mutely collected the empty pizza boxes and put them next to the trash. "Oh, it's not that important, let's not dampen the mood with my stuff…"

"Please Bree, stop dodging the topic." Chloe cut in and joined Stacie on the couch. "You can't put this off indefinitely; it's not fair to Jesse _or you_"

Stacie exchanged looks with Chloe and Aubrey. "You really like to build up some tension, eh? By now I fear you killed someone. Oh my god you didn't kill someone, did you? You know this would mean game over for your career chances." She earned herself a smack on her arm from Chloe with these words, who mumbled something about safe space.

Aubrey groaned and buried her face in her hands. She sat down on the opposite side of the couch and was quiet for a few seconds before she started to talk.

"So Jesse and I are… like, on a break? Yeah, I think so."

"How come?" Stacie asked. "I mean, you weren't that inseparable as those bordering annoying love birds here are," she signed to Chloe with her thumb, who gasped indignantly, "but I thought you were pretty happy?"

"We are! Were? Oh, I don't know. I'm just so confused by everything. I mean I'm straight, okay?" Aubrey fussed desperately and Stacie turned to Chloe with a questioning look.

Chloe rolled her eyes and answered herself. "Fine, here it is. Jesse is transgender, told Aubrey about it and now they're on a break because of that." She focused on her blond friend again, "Which is totally acceptable, but it has been more than two weeks of radio silence between you two now. You won't talk to me about it and by now I fear that you'll both be miserable although it could totally work out!"

Aubrey breathed exhausted and leaned back on the sofa. "How?" she snapped. "How could this work out? I mean I feel like I don't know anything about him. Her? Him? Urgh! I just had a crush on this cute, handsome guy; we dated, everything was next to perfect and now…" She sighed and took a large sip of her drink.

"Okay, first of all, breathe." Stacie said coldly, crossed her legs and considered her approach. She wouldn't get through to Aubrey if she let her anger about this reaction get the best of her. "Second… he's a _he_. Is and always has been, ok?" she said with a soft voice. "He just… hm, think about it as if he had bad luck when nature decided about his body, ok? If he would've had the choice, he might have said something like "_well, females are awesome, but I'm gonna take the males junk and all that."_

Chloe giggled and nodded. "See, that's why I wanted her to talk to you."

Stacie smirked and continued, speaking with a calming voice to Aubrey. "Whatever his background story or how this evolved, it _doesn't_ _matter_. It only matters what is now. Did you talk about anything or…?"

Aubrey raked through her hair. "Yes, he told me about him and how he noticed that something was different. His parents kicked him out for that. I mean, it's a big change and all that and I obviously can't wrap my head around it as well, but how cruel are they? He's their child! I can't even imagine _not_ to want my kids be happy and safe, you know?" Aubrey questioned and got agreeing nods from her friends.

"Absolutely. So you still care about him?" Stacie asked.

"Of course I do! I still _like_ him…"

"But you're scared?" Chloe asked, ending the sentence for her.

Aubrey looked down and nodded. She felt awful, just as if she had abandoned him. But this was something so unexpected and unscheduled; it couldn't just go on so easily, could it?

Stacie took Aubrey's hand and stroked its back. "Of what?"

"Well, _everything_!" Aubrey squealed. "What comes next? How do we handle this? I like men, am I bi now? Queer? How do I treat him? Do we just continue our dating as if nothing has changed? How do we have anything beyond kissing? How would-"

"Shhh, breath, Bree!" Stacie interrupted her. "You don't need to have an answer for all these questions right know and certainly not alone."

"Then _please_ add your knowledge. You consider yourself being open for everyone, don't you? The lack of something like a roadmap is killing me."

Stacie chuckled shortly but composed herself again. "Alright, but this is _my_ opinion on that matter and something _I _would do, okay? Not an ancient wisdom. Yes, I consider myself pansexual. Does that mean I think everyone is hot? No, I still have a type. But it's a type of person and not of gender. So-"

"Uuh, what type is Emily?" Chloe cut in, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Sexy, smart and kindhearted, if we ignore this bet issue" Stacie deadpanned, before she continued. "So here's the thing, Bree. I don't know what comes next. If you like him as you say, you'll both figure it out. I'm afraid there is no roadmap. You're unique; so is your relationship. As for your sexuality… do you think it has changed? Do you want to label yourself differently? Do you want to label yourself at all?" She looked into Aubrey's eyes assuring. "You don't need to do anything about that. You're just… _you_. And you just like Jesse. He's a man. Period. Nothing has to change, as long as you don't want to. No need to justify yourself."

Chloe watched Aubrey listening attentively. It seemed as if she got calmer with every sentence Stacie said and surprisingly, it had the same effect on Chloe, although this was not about her. She was happy that her decision to confront Aubrey together with Stacie apparently was a good idea. Something about Stacie's words reminded her of her own short struggle with her sexuality years ago, although it was much less frightening for her than this situation was now for Aubrey. Still. Stacie was able to put her thoughts into words that made sense.

Stacie paused for a bit and took a sip of her beer to give Aubrey a moment to keep up with everything. Then she continued. "You don't treat him any different than before. Why would you? He's still _Jesse the dork_. Oh, stop making that face, we all know he's a major goofball, like everyone in that band." She winked at her friends with a gentle smile.

"You're about to date one of them too, if I may remember you" Aubrey retorted and stuck her tongue out. Chloe laughed at her comment and was happy that Aubrey was still able to joke.

"They're all cute weirdos. I can't believe we all ended up with one of them."

"Well, it was definitely not something I had in mind when I pushed us to go to this gig a few months ago" Stacie added grinning, but as she saw Aubrey pursing her lips she focused again. "Alright, where was I?"

"The dating… and _stuff_." Aubrey muttered embarrassed.

"Ah, yes. Well… I wouldn't know why you couldn't just continue. Your dating doesn't have to change. I can't say anything concerning sex though, this is-, would be… your thing. _You_ _two_ have to figure it out. No one can tell you what to do or not. But this applies for _every_ couple, throuple, whatever."

"Throuple?"

"Yeah, when three people… never mind. The point is: do whatever feels good" Stacie shrugged and downed her beer, while watching Aubrey looking at her incredulously. "What?"

"You make it sound so easy."

"It can be. I'm not saying there won't be obstacles, but it'll probably be easier than you think."

Aubrey furrowed her brows and looked over at Chloe, who just sat there in silence. When she noticed Aubrey's glance, she answered the non-verbal question. "Uhm, what she said. Obviously, I can't phrase my thoughts that well, but in the end, I think it all comes down to one thing; do you like him and want to be with him?"

Aubrey stayed quiet for a moment and exhaled slowly. Then she looked up, her nose scrunched, and nodded.

"Then you have your answer" Chloe said with a big smile. "Bree, you're not alone in this, ok?"

"I know. Thank you." Aubrey took Stacie's hand and squeezed it.

"Just talk to each other, ok?" Stacie said. "Yeees, I'm the one to talk; I get it. Will do."

Chloe laughed and ruffled Stacie's hair. "Jesus, look at us all wise and grown up. Now that we have this out of the way… who's in for a romantic comedy?" she chimed all giddy.

"Definitely me. My brain hurts." Aubrey replied and stood up to go to the fridge.

Stacie sighed and let herself fall back on the couch; she really thought she could get around this _girl's night_ thing. "Whatever… oh, and don't think I won't use this _my_ _brain hurts_ term against you, just because we had a good chat, Bree!"

The last thing Stacie saw was a chips bag that came flying from the kitchen corner and landed in her face.

* * *

On the same evening a bit earlier, Jesse walked through the Applebaum's front yard and stepped up to the door. Loud music echoed from inside, some rock of the eighties. It became quieter when he rang the bell and soon footsteps came closer. Emily's father opened the door, a tall man with brown short hair and a full beard. Over his shoulder dangled a dish towel.

"Hey son! Nice to see you. Come in!"

"Hi Erik, thank you."

"To what do I owe the honor of your visit this night? Did you finally come over for our long-planned boys' night?" Emily's dad asked expectantly when they both stood in the hallway.

"Uhm, actually I wanted to see Em…" Jesse replied insecurely. Did he forgot something?

Erik's face morphed into a grin. "I'm just messing with you kid; I know you're not here to hang out with the old man. She's upstairs in her room." He took a step forward and whispered, "Maybe you're able to get through to her. She's been miserable for the whole week now and won't talk to Katherine or me. Something is bothering her, and we start to worry."

"Yeah, I noticed. One of the reasons I'm here."

"Okay, good. Oh, while you're at it, take this upstairs please." He went into the kitchen and handed Jesse a bowl with grapes and chopped apples, as well as a bottle of water when he came back. "Got to put some vitamins into that kiddo. Now if you excuse me, I'll continue to do the maintenance work in the room of nutrition!"

"Kitchen duty?"

"Kitchen duty it is!" Erik repeated heroically while motioning finger guns at Jesse. He disappeared towards the living room and the music got louder again.

Jesse chuckled to himself when he turned to the stairway. He may have lost his biological parents somewhere along the way, but the universe decided to gift him with the nicest kind-of-stepparents on the planet. And stepsiblings, obviously. He went upstairs and turned to Emily's room. When he knocked, a muffled _Not hungry, dad!_ sounded from inside.

"Apart from indeed having snacks with me I'm certainly too young to be your dad" Jesse shouted back. He heard footsteps and a second later, the door opened a tiny crack.

"Oh hey, it's you. Come in…" a hooded figure said and disappeared again.

Jesse stepped inside the room and put the bowl and bottle on a nearby surface. He looked around the room, which was untidy, dark and musty. Emily sat on the floor, wearing her panda-onesie and playing old SNES games on her tv. She had chips crumbles on her legs and looked pale.

Jesse puffed out. "Okay cookie, you need to air this room like yesterday."

Hearing the old pet name, Emily looked at him shortly. "Feel free. I have to beat this level."

Jesse sighed and opened the curtains and the window. Then he collected the old chips bags and chocolate containers that piled around Emily and put them in the garbage can. Before sitting next to her, he picked up the bowl of fruits and water and placed it between them. He grabbed the second controller and waited for her to change the game to the two-player mode.

For a while they played together quietly, every now and then Jesse put a piece of fruit in Emily's mouth and handed her the water. At some point they run out of lives and the game-over-music of _Zombies ate my neighbors! _came up.

Jesse exhaled. "Guess what."

"Hm?"

"I told Aubrey."

They both stared at the game over screen.

"Told her what?"

"'Bout me."

"Oh." Emily turned to him. "How did it go?"

"Okay-ish? I mean apart from dead silence for two weeks. She said she'd need some time but… I'm not sure anymore." He looked down sadly and Emily laid her hand on his back.

"I'm sorry, J."

"Thanks. I'd really hoped she would have texted or called by now, but… well. You can only dream for so long."

"Maybe she needs some more time?"

"Maybe…" He swallowed and nibbled on an apple. The main menu of the game came up, but Emily didn't start it again. "So… what got you all miserable? You haven't played that bad since… ever?"

"Hey!" She smacked his arm with her controller and took away the bowl to pour the last grapes into her mouth.

"What? It's true!" Jesse chuckled and ruffled the hood of her onesie. "You know you can talk to me, right? You got to admit you've been in better places." He lifted the fabric on her legs and some Cheetos crumbles landed on the floor. "Where's my sunshine and rainbow cookie?"

Emily just grunted. "I got the girl, J, but then I messed up with her. Benji and I made this stupid bet and now she doesn't want to see me anymore."

"What bet?"

She peeled a particularly large crumb from her leg and pushed it into tiny pieces while telling him about the last events between her and Stacie. By the end of the story, she flicked the remaining crumbs away. "… I mean I get that she's mad and all that but… it was just a small joke that night. Nothing that happened after had anything to do with it. I really thought this could be something but she… _bam_! Just broke up with me like this." She snapped her fingers and let her arm fall down.

"Man… this sucks." Jesse said and laid an arm over her shoulders. "Sounds like there's more to it than this bet thing.

"Yeah well if so, she didn't tell me."

Jesse exhaled through his nose and Emily led out a small sob. He petted her head. "You know what could help?"

"Please don't say writing a song about it" she said with a small voice.

"Writing a song about it!" he exclaimed, laughing softly. "I mean that's what a bunch of emotional queerdos with instruments do, right? Wouldn't be the first song about heartache."

"Can't argue with that."

"Despite having been emotionally exhausted, I was kissed by the muse on the night I told Aubrey!" Jesse declared and got a snort from Emily.

"God you're such a dork… but I guess I have no other option; I mean I already played through all my games twice."

"But don't you have like… a hundred cartridges?"

Emily shrugged. "Something like this."

"Alright. So, you're gonna clean up yourself _and _this garbage dump of a room and I'll talk to Eric about us having dinner upstairs. And then we'll take our pain and put it into lyrics."

"Dramatic, much?"

"Says a stinky panda covered in food" Jesse replied and held his nose.

"Shut up, juice box."

* * *

On the next day, Beca drove onto the driveway of her parents' house, where she and her girlfriend were invited over dinner after Chloe's postponed soccer game. She coughed nervously. "You're sure you wanna do this? They're annoyingly dorky in private."

Chloe smiled and took Beca's hand. "Nice to know where it comes from. No seriously, why not, sweetie? If they're just half as great as you, I'm sure we'll have a good time."

"You don't have to kiss my ass you know; we're already together" Beca winked at her.

"Oh shut up. You love your ego getting stroked." Chloe said grinning and took her bag from the footwell. "And before you say anything; yes, I'll gladly revisit some other stroking later…" She raised her eyebrow suggestively and got out of the van.

"Jesus, Beale. I got to survive this evening even without your ambiguous hints." Beca whined and followed her example to get out of the car.

"Then you better prepare to hold it together."

"What have I gotten myself into?" Beca asked herself loudly when they stepped up to the door and she operated the heavy door knocker.

"Please, you _love_ it."

"… I do." Beca replied quietly while facing Chloe, who realized in an instant what she had said and turned to her baffled. Her mouth slowly opened to react in some way, but right then the doorway opened and Beca's mother greeted them.

"Hey girls, nice to see you! Hey muffin!" she hugged Beca, and any previous conversation was briefly forgotten when Chloe turned to Beca to mouth an excited _Muffin?_

Beca closed her eyes moaning. "Mom! I told you to stop calling me that!" she hissed quietly.

"And I told you I won't! So you must be Chloe. Hi, I'm Jean!"

"Good evening, Mrs. Mitchell, thank you for having me." Chloe answered politely.

"It's Jean for you. Come in you two, dinner's ready in 15!"

They followed the dark haired, short woman into the house and took their shoes off. Jean disappeared from their view and shouted a _"Warren, they're here!"_ into the house.

Chloe used the moment alone to whisper to Beca. "So, _Muffin_! Your mom's nice!"

"Urgh, I knew something like that would happen. Just… don't tell anyone okay? Not even Stacie, please!"

"I love it when you beg, baby. Okay, but if I'll get the chance, I'll be allowed to look at old baby pictures of you!" Chloe grinned, stepped closer to Beca and kissed her gently. Before things got heated, a voice came up and they dashed apart.

"Hey Jean, you were right, I _do_ have a daughter, she must be avoiding me on campus then!"

Beca rolled her eyes and faced the man entering the hallway. "Chris Rock everybody."

"I love you too, _muffin_." He hugged Beca as well while emphasizing the nickname and winked at Chloe. "Hey Chloe, I'm Warren. Don't start with Dr. Mitchell."

"Hi Warren, nice to meet you." Chloe replied sweetly and Beca made a face at her.

"Follow me, we'll set the table and then you can tell us everything about how you met, because I know how my daughter loves to talk about stuff like that" he said and lead the way. "Oh congratulations by the way, Chloe. Nice game today! I heard the Dashers are on their way up to the top of the league?"

"Thank you. Yeah, just a couple of victories more and no team will be able to catch us up."

"Go, Dashers!" Warren shouted, entering the dining room and Beca made a grumpy noise following her dad and Chloe.

...

Since her parents seemed to be decent people, they made it through dinner without any more jokes at Beca's costs. It was pretty nice even and the conversation flowed freely between everyone. They were mid-dessert when the topic changed to the Treblemakers and the last events.

"Oh god, the poor boy! I hope he gets well quick! Will he be able to play again soon?" Jean asked Beca when told about Benji's state.

"Probably… He'll definitely have to use a chair and avoid singing for some weeks, but he'll be fine, I think. They'll discharged him tomorrow." Beca answered after swallowing her ice cream.

"Well, make sure to give him our regards. Did you do something about this label offer?" Jean asked.

"Yup. We cancelled it a few days ago. Could have been something great, but they're just dickheads."

"Beca!" Warren said and shook his head. "You know the English language is rich and beautiful... and full of possible insults much classier than something connected to male genitalia."

Chloe laughed at him. "Would you mind giving us an example, Warren?"

"Hm, what about _fopdoodle_? Or _gobermouch_?"

"What?!" Chloe giggled.

"I swear he just makes them up, no one talks like that." Beca deadpanned and started to collect the empty bowls.

"Well they _used_ to talk like that, Beca. You would think you knew that, being the daughter of an English literature professor and everything…" her dad stated. "However, I'm glad you turned down their offer. You deserve better than this second-rate label."

"It's not as if we have a large choice, dad" she said, taking the dishes into the kitchen.

"I know… that's why I thought about the 500 years celebration." He rubbed his hands together. "Maybe I can pull some strings. You could be the main act or something."

"Oh, that's a great Idea Hun, I bet I could get the opera to lend them some material for a portable stage!" Jean mused.

"Did you hear that, Becs?" Chloe asked excited towards the kitchen.

"Say what?" Beca's head appeared in the doorframe. "What celebration?"

"Has our kid always been this dense?" Warren whispered to Jean, who slapped his arm grinning.

Chloe huffed amused and explained the situation when Beca returned. "The big celebration, baby. There are posters everywhere on campus, didn't you see them? Barden is going to be 500 years old soon."

"Oh, yeah no. I was probably busy with something."

Warren continued, "Anyway… this won't be just a small thing, they assigned a whole week to those celebrations with different events like lectures, movies and an art exhibition with old pictures."

"Sounds… interesting?" Beca asked with a raised eyebrow. "How's that connected to the Trebles?"

"Well, the college board scheduled a big closing ceremony at the end of the celebration week. A member of the board owes me a favor for some teaching affairs last semester. Maybe we could arrange something so you could perform instead of some bad mall-DJ?"

"Yeah, I guess that would be cool."

Her dad chuckled. "Beca, don't you know what this could mean? Barden has some very prominent alumni; they'll be probably invited for something big like this." He turned to his wife, "What's this lead singer's name again, Jean? His group is on the radio often enough… something with fear and club."

"_Panic at the disco_, Warren. Jeez, you're spending too much time in your books sometimes."

"BRENDON URIE IS AN ALUMNI OF BARDEN? AND HE'S GOING TO BE THERE?" Beca shouted and stood up so quick that her chair fell back.

Her parents laughed loudly, and Warren lifted his hands. "Calm down, Beca. I said _probably_. But yes, it's possible. Maybe-, and that's a big maybe, he'll be there and like your sound. I'll try to get some information."

"Oh my god, Chloe. You know what this could mean?" Beca asked her wide eyed.

Chloe smiled brightly and gave her a quick kiss. "Yes Becs, it would be totally awes! How soon can you get some intel?" she asked Warren while picking up Beca's chair which lay still behind the short brunette.

"I'll speak to Karen from the board this week, don't worry." he assured. "Now, I'll prepare some coffee, who wants a cup? And Chloe; any interest in old baby pictures of Beca?" he smirked.

* * *

**[A/N2]: **Same procedure as last chapters; if there's anything concerning the trans-dialogue, leave me a pm.


	14. Chapter 14

**[A/N]: ** What's up guys, I hope you do well in this crisis. My PhD thesis is finally finished, yay. While I still have to do some bureaucratic stuff I'll continue this again :)

The chapter title is from Arctic Monkeys - Potion approaching

Emily's and Jesse's song: FOB - I've got a dark alley and a bad idea that says you should shut your mouth (summer song) - of course a bit altered to fit into the story!

I don't own anything concerning PP and FOB. Leave a review. Or don't. Be happy and free :)

* * *

**Chapter 14 - Yours is the only ocean (that I wanna swing from)**

The door closed and Benji and Emily visibly lost the tension that held them while they'd been interviewed. The two police officers had been very kind and sympathetic during the testimony and had asked pretty detailed questions about the night Benji was attacked and Emily's encounter. They had left with the promise to do everything in their power to get hold of the perpetrators.

"Thanks for doing this" Benji said while he got up from the bed. He was already dressed in his usual clothes and started to pack the last things of his toiletry.

"You're welcome. I mean it's not as if I just held your hand. It's weird, until now I had this thing saved in my head as _something that happens_. Now it's become… a real threat. I don't know what would've happened if Stacie hadn't come that night."

"Remind me to thank her again."

"The officers were cute though. They kind of looked a bit like Jesse and Beca, don't you think?"

Benji laughed loud. "Please, just because they were both brunette? And the female cop was certainly too tall to be Bec's look-a-like."

"I just said they _kind of_ looked like them! And I'm pretty sure she wore a similar ring on her thumb."

Before Benji could answer, someone knocked on the door and it swung open a moment later with Bumper entering the room. "How is my favorite patient doing this noon? My little birds told me you are going to be discharged now and I'm here to make sure you'll get out of this sacred halls safely!"

"Of course you do" Emily said, shooting him a wink. Benji just grinned shyly and grabbed his bag, which was quickly secured by Bumper.

"Oh you won't mister, you got to look after yourself a bit from now on. No heavy lifting, no sports, no long sitting or walking…"

"Then he's definitely safe I'd say." Emily chimed in and got a cold gaze from Benji.

"Not that you would _need_ it; I'm sure under this shirt is a six-pack waiting, isn't it?" He poked Benji's side before he realized what he had done. "I'm sorry that was inappropriate." He retreated and stood awkwardly behind the wheelchair. "Um, I have here the latest invention in the field of human transport. Would you bestow me the honor to escort you to the entrance?"

Benji just grinned and nodded reassuringly when he slowly sat down. They made their way out of the room, across the corridor and down to the entrance of the hospital. When they reached the double sliding doors, Emily looked at her phone and the text she had received.

"She's already here Ben, I'll just go ahead to meet her. Take your time" she said winking and walked out to the parking lot.

Both men followed her movement and it was quiet for a bit before Bumper asked "So, someone's picking you up?"

"Yeah, my mom."

"Cool, cool."

"Yup." _Urgh, do something!_

"Are you-"

"Do you wanna-"

They spoke simultaneously.

"After you" Bumper said and locked the wheelchair. Benji swallowed and nodded to himself.

"Okay, uh… I hope I didn't get the signals wrong… I thought maybe you would want to watch us practice sometime? You know, my band I told you about?"

Bumper smiled. "Yeah, I would really like that."

"Great!"

"Okay, how about-" Bumper kneeled down in front of Benji facing him in the wheelchair, "you enter your phone number in here and I'll text you and then you'll text me about the details?"

They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, Bumper's brown eyes meeting Benji's blue-grey ones. Benji opened his mouth to say something when Emily shouted at them from the parking lot and Benji snapped out of it. She was approaching them together with his mom.

"Oh, I should…" He took Bumper's phone and entered his number, right before Mrs. Applebaum got hold of him.

"I'm so glad I finally have my baby back!" She hugged him carefully when he got out of the wheelchair.

"Mom, it's only been like a week" Benji mumbled a bit embarrassed. But his mother was having none of it.

"Shush, I'm allowed to miss you." Then she turned to Bumper. "Hi Mr. …"

"Allen, mam" Bumper jumped in, his hands properly folded behind his back.

"…Allen. Well, thank you for your service. I think we got it from here." She friendly nodded goodbye and took Benji's arm, who smiled shyly at Bumper before turning in the car's direction.

"See you" Emily dismissed herself smirking before following her family.

Bumper gazed back at them when they left and looked around. When he was sure he was the only one in front of the entrance, he grinned broadly and congratulated himself.

* * *

Jesse sat in a booth at Paula's. He still had 20 minutes of his break and sucked at the straw of his milkshake, when his phone vibrated with a text. He got it out and saw the name of the composer, which made him choke on his drink.

_1 New Message [Aubrey]_

He closed his eyes. This was it. She was gonna break up with him for good. He put his phone on the table and shoved it away a few inches. His fingers found the bridge of his nose and kneaded it while he continued to suck on his drink.

_What if … No. But what if? Still no. Not going to happen. Yeah, but maybe? As if. She would have called. You didn't call as well… Because I wasn't supposed to. Maybe she's scared. As if. Stop repeating yourself. I'm right. You don't know that. But-_

His wild thoughts were interrupted when his phone buzzed again, and he opened his messages almost defiantly.

_Aubrey [19:11]: I know it's been a while. Can we talk?_

_Aubrey [19:14]: Whenever you're free, no pressure._

_Aubrey [19:14]: I miss you._

God, he missed her too. He missed her like hell. It was a good sign she missed him, right? Well, fuck. Either this was it…or. _Or_. He answered.

_Jesse [19:15]: miss you too. on my break right now, home 11pm_

His text maybe was a bit harsh, but he didn't want to sound desperate. Too vulnerable. Before he could change his mind, he hit 'send'. His mouth found the straw again, but just hollow sounds emerged, signaling the emptiness of his glass. Then his phone started to ring, showing Aubrey's caller ID. He looked at his watch and at the display again. Slowly he reached for the device and held it against his ear.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, it's… me. I don't want to interrupt your break and I promise I'll cut it short."_

"It's okay, I just finished dinner. I only have a few minutes, though…"

"_Oh, okay." _

The line went quiet for a moment.

"Are you… is everything alright?" he asked, not sure anymore what this was about.

"_Yeah, thanks, I'm… everything's alright. How are you?"_

"I'm okay I think." He shrugged, although she couldn't see him. "Not too many customers today, so"

"_Ah…well that's good! Fingers crossed it stays like that!"_

Jesse managed a chuckle. "Yeah hopefully…" Again only silence met his ears, so he continued. "Don't get me wrong, I really like talking to you right now, but… is there a more specific reason to your call, or…?"

"_Sorry. Yes. Well… I just wanted you to know that I miss you. But I suspect you already know that since I texted you."_

"Kind of, yeah" he said gently.

"_Okay, good. So um." _She exhaled. "_I really would like to see you again. If you… if you'll still have me."_ Aubrey almost whispered the last words.

Jesse closed his eyes relieved. "Yeah, I do, I… I'm glad you called."

"_Me too."_

"What about Thursday after rehearsal? I took a few more shifts than usual this week but I'm free then…"

"_Yeah, that can be arranged!"_

"Alright. Good. Then I'll see you on Thursday?"

"_Thursday it is."_

"Okay… have a nice evening, Bree"

"_You too, Jess."_

"Thanks."

"_Jess?"_

"Hm?"

"_Thank you."_

They ended the call and Jesse rubbed his face, still unable to grasp everything.

_if you'll still have me_.

This was good right? It had to be. He stood up, took his glass and whistled the refrain of Emily's and his latest song while going to the counter to greet the next customer.

* * *

On Thursday, Emily parked her bike in the patio behind Paula's and locked it. She retrieved her keys to the rear entrance when her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was probably someone from school; something about classes or homework. Not that she didn't hope it was Stacie. The older brunette was ghosting her since the evening they had fought, and she was sure they weren't a thing anymore by now. The last text Emily had sent this morning was an invite to come by after practice today, but she but she didn't have high hopes of getting an answer.

She unlocked the screen and saw that indeed her friend Marley had texted back about some biology homework and how the weekly assignment of her glee club was annoying. Although she didn't expect anything else, disappointment stabbed through Emily's chest. She quickly composed a text back and forced herself to put the phone away and concentrate on the upcoming practice. Loud and heavy rock music was exactly the thing she needed right now.

When she entered the old garage, she was met with Beca's voice. "… maybe a great chance for us!"

The door behind Emily closed and Beca turned in her direction. "There you are! Sit down Em, I got great news!"

Emily raised a brow and looked at her friends, but they just shrugged, also waiting for Beca to elaborate. She wiggled herself onto the couch between Lilly and Jesse; Benji was positioned on a soft chair next to the sofa.

"Your aura is dark today. But it'll get brighter again, soon." Lilly whispered in her ear and she turned to the bass player, who just flared her nostrils.

"Guys!" Beca snapped her fingers to get everyone's attention. "Alright, so apparently I was able to ignore all those posters and announcements before, but now it's pretty obvious that Barden's gonna be 500 this year and they plan to celebrate a whole week with boring stuff-"

"It's not boring! They have like really old pictures and construction plans which are exhibited and several lectures about Barden's history!" Benji interrupted her.

Jesse raised a brow. "Yawn… who wants to know the history about some buildings? They would better offer some interactive stuff there-"

"_Anyways_-" Beca said a bit louder to get the attention back, "apart from the boring stuff, there'll be a big celebration at the end of the planned week, almost like a one-day festival. My dad pulled some strings and now it seems that we will be the main act!"

Jesse sat up straight. "Hold on. You… you mean in front of, like the whole campus?"

Beca gave him a big grin. "Yeah. I mean obviously it's not like _everyone_ will attend, but at least like… I don't know; five times the BA party?"

"That's almost three thousand people" Jesse whispered wide-eyed.

Emily's jaw fell down. "Are you _serious_, Becs?"

The drummer just chuckled and flipped the stick she was holding. "Pretty amazing, huh? I couldn't believe it myself when my dad told me, but this is going to be a huge thing for us. And you don't know the best part yet… They're going to invite a lot of former students, especially those who could be potential financial supporters. Always looking for funding and so on. I mean… it's not final and to date nobody knows anything, but I got told that Brendon Urie might be one of those alumni."

"Oh my god. This is… wait, where are you going with this?" Emily asked, now equally intrigued.

"Well, _maybe_ we're lucky and someone likes what we're doing. Someone who has the connections you need to find a label? And not like this Main-Cold-forget-your-principles-crap."

"Holy shit."

"Indeed…" Beca turned to Benji, who was unusually quiet and looked at his watch again. "You're okay there, Ben? Is the chair alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yes. I'm good, sorry. That's great news. Do you think we'll have enough time to prepare?" Benji answered. His eyes switched between Beca and the door leading to Paula's.

"It won't be easy, but I think almost three months are enough. We already have a nice repertoire and a few new songs in the pipeline."

"Which reminds me of the piece Em and I wrote. We have a tune, but of course it still lacks a final arrangement" Jesse said. "Maybe we can take a look at it later?"

"Wow, yeah totally!" She signed a 'thumbs up'.

"When did you write it? And why did I not know of this?" Benji asked with a pout.

"Sorry bro-" Jesse laughed, "on Sunday. Em and I needed some outlet. You'll hear it soon enough."

"Meh. Whatever. Forget about your physically limited long-time friend" Benji mumbled, playfully sulky. Then a knock on the door startled him and he automatically wanted to stand up but fell back wincing.

"Dude! Chill, I got this. Do you expect someone?" Beca exclaimed, still standing in front of her friends and now moving to the door.

Benji blushed and Emily grinned at him. "Mr. Applebaum! Didn't waste time, did you?"

Benji just smiled back embarrassed and confirmed Emily's assumptions. Beca opened the door and Bumper stood in front of her, wearing jeans, a shirt and a sports jacket. She raised a brow.

"Um, hi?" A few seconds went by. "Oh, you're the nurse! Sorry I didn't recognize you right away. Looking all prim and proper, huh?" she smirked and opened the door to let him in.

"Thank you. Hi!" He came in and waved in the general direction of the couch, while 4 pairs of eyes shot at him. If he felt uncomfortable though, he didn't show it. Benji came to the rescue and introduced him.

"Guys, this is Bumper. I invited him to watch us." Bumper now approached Benji and it was cringy to watch them figure out how to greet each other. Benji was awkwardly raising his hand, while Bumper went in for a hug, then they switched their behavior - it was a bit like watching an accident until both settled on a light one-armed hug.

"Guys don't be rude! Say hello. Hey Bumper!" Emily stood up and went in on a full hug to make the situation less awkward.

"She's right, sorry. I think we already met; I'm Jesse" The singer said and followed Emily's example.

Lilly just popped her lips and made a vulcan salute.

After Bumper found a spot on the armrest of Benji's chair, Beca nodded at Bumper with a smile. "I'm Beca. Okay, so… should we get started?"

* * *

"Come on, Stace! You promised!"

"I can't remember saying something like that."

"Urgh! You know what? Go on then and lie to yourself. You know you want to see her, you're just a chicken."

"I shouldn't have told you about the message."

"Well, you did. And this is a perfect opportunity. Besides, I'm here too. I'm also scared as fuck-"

"_Wow_, what's with the cursing? You really must be scared."

"Shut up and follow me."

Aubrey and Stacie were a few blocks away from Paula's. The Trebles had practice, and both had been invited to come by after. They were standing in front of a Starbucks and while the original plan was to go straight to the little pizza restaurant, Stacie was suddenly very interested in the coffee shop menu.

"Bree, what if she hates me? I ignored her for over a week."

"First, you have done that with others before. The fact that this scares you now really is a sign that you like her. Second, _she _wrote_ you_. Today! Again. Why would she hate you, obviously she wants to see you?"

"I don't know! Maybe this is some screwed up plan?" Stacie said, leaning her forehead against the windowpane.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Stacie, you need to understand that you are worthy of love. I think she really likes you and I seriously doubt that she would be physically able to do something like that. That girl is like a human litter of puppies!"

Stacie sighed but didn't move and Aubrey had enough. She took Stacie's hand and pulled her towards Paula's.

"Bree, what the f-"

"Hush now. Let's take a look through the window." When they arrived at their destination and Aubrey turned to Stacie, the confident look on her face had vanished.

"Okay. Breathe in… breathe out."

"I'm not hyperventilating!"

"I'm talking to myself. Stacie I'm really nervous myself and I need you to be an adult right now." Aubrey was pale and her lower lip quivered. She looked as if she was about to stress vomit, which Stacie absolutely didn't want to deal with.

"You're right, Bree. Sorry." Stacie followed Aubrey's breathing pattern, before she continued. "We're in this together and we got this! You're amazing and you'll get your weirdo and I probably gonna get _my_ weirdo. Now let me look through the window before I change my mind."

She gently shoved Aubrey away and stepped up to the pane. She had to look around a second and use her hands as a sunshield before she spotted familiar faces in a corner booth: Benji, Lilly and apparently Benji's nurse were sitting together, drinking milkshakes and talking. The man Stacie identified as Bumper had an irritated look on his face, while Lilly seemed to whisper something to him.

"They're not in there, at least not all of them. I only see Benji, Lilly and this Bumper guy from the hospital."

"That's a… strange combination. Hm, I knew Benji was going to be at practice again, but he obviously didn't waste any time to meet Bumper again." A pause. "Good for him, he's cute."

"You're gonna give him the best friend talk, won't you?" Stacie grinned mischievously.

"You can bet your damn ass I will."

"Alright; as much as I'm not looking forward to the next minutes, I think we really need to get this over with. S_wearing Aubrey_ does something to my body, and I don't know if you want that."

"I'm flattered but save it for Emily."

Stacie had to laugh at this and it loosened some of the tension. "You know what? I'm proud of you. A few months ago something like this would have disturbed you deeply."

"What can I say? Being with you and Chloe and the circumstances right now maybe helped to promote my self-development."

"I take that as a compliment." Stacie winked and grabbed Aubrey's hand as they entered the restaurant, making a beeline towards the targeted table.

Benji recognized them and waved, excited to see them. "Hey girls! What are you doing here?"

Aubrey took the lead and answered. "Hey everyone, nice to see you" Her gaze landed on Bumper's face shortly. "Actually we're here to meet up with… you know." Her voice got lower. "Jess and Emily."

Benji seemed to understand and nodded. "They're still in the back with Beca." He pointed between the two women and Bumper, who smiled. "You remember each other, don't you?"

Stacie beat Aubrey with an answer. "Yes, we do. Nice to see you; enjoy being still in one piece" she grinned and looked at Aubrey, while Bumper frowned.

"Sorry, what?"

"She's a bit dehydrated, if you excuse us." Aubrey pulled her away and they went to the door leading to the practice room. "Thank you for making things unnecessarily awkward, Stace"

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Still a bit worked up, you know?"

"No, I don't and while I can perfectly handle your TMI-stuff I would appreciate-"

"Shhh!" Stacie interrupted her when they reached the second door to the garage. It was left ajar and they could hear the quite voices of the other band members. She carefully looked through the crack of the door and could spot Jesse, Emily and Beca near the sofa. Jesse and Emily each had a guitar in their lap. She lay her finger on her lips to sign Aubrey to be quiet and they listened in secret.

"…these are some emotional lyrics guys. And you wrote them this Sunday?" Beca asked both her friends.

"Told you; when creativity hits you it just flows" Jesse answered and shoved his elbow at Emily, who smiled sad.

"Can't argue with that. You said you already had a tune? Let me hear."

"Yeah, more or less. It's just the guitar for now but you'll work out some drum pattern quickly I think" Emily replied and took the lyric sheet back to put it between Jesse and her. Then she counted and a soft acoustic guitar sound filled the room.

Jesse started with his lyrics:

_Joke me something awful just like kisses_

_on the necks of best friends;_

_we're the kids who feel like dead ends…_

_And I want to be known for my hits, not just my misses_

_I took a shot and didn't even come close_

_At trust and love and hope_

_And the poets are just kids who didn't make it_

_And never had it, at all…_

Emily joined him for the refrain:

_And the record won't stop skipping_

_And the coin just won't stop flipping_

_And besides, our reputation's on the line_

_We can fake it on the bad days,_

_force our smiles, baby, half dead_

_from comparing myself_

_to everyone else around me_

A few guitar tunes followed and Beca used the time to quickly sat down on the old cajón to thrum along before Emily sang the next verse alone:

_Please put the doctor on the phone_

_'cause I'm not making any sense_

_blame everyone but me for this mess…_

_And my back has been breaking from this heavy heart_

_we never seemed so far_

_I'm hopelessly hopeful_

_you're just hopeless enough_

_but we never had it, at all…_

The last chorus was filled again with both their voices.

_And the record won't stop skipping_

_And the coin just won't stop flipping_

_And besides, our reputation's on the line_

_We can fake it on the bad days,_

_force our smiles, baby, half dead_

_from comparing myself_

_to everyone else around me_

_To everyone else around us_

_Everyone else around us_

_Everyone else around us_

The last tunes faded out slowly. Then a loud sob interrupted the silence and in surprise Aubrey bumped against the door, which opened a few inches, creaking.

The three musicians snapped their heads to the door and could make out two figures in the corridor. Emily tilted her head and saw the tear-stained face of her ex-girlfriend.

"Stacie?!"

...

The door to the storage room between the garage and the patio closed with a soft thud and Emily breathed out. After Aubrey and Stacie had been spotted, they had entered the garage and Beca quickly dismissed herself, saying something about looking for Benji and Bumper. It had been an awkward situation with the four of them in one space, so Emily suggested that she and Stacie would get out to give the others space. She turned around and faced Stacie, who was leaning against the freezer that was stored in the small room.

"I'm glad you're here" she started and leaned her back against the door.

Stacie just nodded and looked down. She fumbled with her fingers and was about to say something, but no words left her mouth.

"Stacie I'm really sorry about the other day. _Please_ trust me when I say that I had no intention to hurt you and-"

"Stop."

"No! Stacie you _have _to believe me-"

"I believe you!"

"What?" Emily frowned, she was ready to stay here all day to explain herself and now this didn't seem to be necessary at all.

"I do believe you. And I want you to stop apologizing. I thought about us a lot and was given to understand that I… well, overreacted. I'm sorry that I left the way I did, but I couldn't help myself. A few things from the past still haunt me…"

She looked up from the floor and met Emily's eyes.

"This song… was it about… did you have us in mind?" Stacie swallowed and hoped that Emily's answer was yes, it would be so embarrassing if she'd read too much into it.

"Pretty much… I mean it's Jesse's song, too, so… it's not just about my experience." Emily replied with a small voice.

Stacie nodded. "I'm really sorry I ignored you."

"You're here now."

"I am. And I'd like to explain myself to you and start over, which I hope you still want..."

Emily didn't answer but took on of the stored containers and sat down.

...

In the garage, Jesse and Aubrey had made themselves comfortable on the couch. The atmosphere wasn't as tense as in the storage room with Stacie and Emily, but both felt nervous due to the past weeks.

"It's nice to see you. You look good." Jesse started; his fear of Aubrey breaking up with him faded now that she contacted him and showed up.

"You too." Aubrey said, replying to both of his statements. "The song is beautiful."

"Thank you."

It was quiet for a few moments and Jesse could practically hear the gears turning in Aubrey's head. Apparently, she thought hardly about her next words and he choose to give her the time. He waited for a couple of weeks; a few minutes didn't matter now. The golden light of the setting sun shined through the little window in the gate of the garage, illuminating Aubrey's blonde hair and he enjoyed the view.

"When you told me…" Aubrey started eventually, "I was not able to wrap my head around anything. I mean I've obviously heard about it and know that this is a thing but… it kind of caught me off guard. I doubted everything about us and what we'd already established. And that probably wasn't fair to you or _us_. I forgot that you were still you, which I was kindly reminded of by certain people" she grinned sadly, looking down her lap.

"In the end I was lucky to realize that I like you nonetheless and want to be with you. But I was… and I'm still… pretty scared." She looked up and her eyes glistened with tears not shed yet. "I have so many questions and at the same time I'm afraid that I don't know how to handle possible answers and I don't want to hurt you… again."

Jesse swallowed and suppressed some tears of his own. The combination of relief and fear was overwhelming, but he was glad about her sincerity. His hand slowly wandered to Aubrey's and took it, his thumb brushing over its back.

His voice was hoarse with the first few words. "How about we start over. Slow. Get to know each other again? I'll answer every question you have and promise that we'll find a solution to any problem that occurs. Together?"

"That sounds nice" Aubrey said, watching their hands. She liked the feeling; Jesse's hand was big and warm and reassuring. She squeezed it a bit and smiled at him before she rearranged herself on the couch and laid her head in his lap. They stayed like this for a while, in comfortable silence while Jesse softly stroked through her hair.

Meanwhile, the light outside turned from gold to blue and grey. There was barely a light in the garage left when a thought crossed Aubrey's mind. "Hey… did Stace and Emily come out yet?"

"Not yet. Do you think we should check on them? They could have exited through the patio."

Aubrey shrugged. "Don't know. I could see myself eating something from next door, though. What about you?"

"Definitely. Would it be okay if the others were still there and we'd join them?"

"Sure!" Aubrey replied and smiled at him from his lap. They moved up from the couch and Jesse approached the door to the storage room. His hands were only a few inches from the door handle before he changed his mind and raised a hand to knock. He was glad that he did; before his fingers touched the door, he could hear a voice from inside.

"_Oh god Em, please don't stop"_

His eyes went wide, and he flinched as if the door was a hotplate.

"Something wrong?" Aubrey questioned, standing at the door to Paula's.

"Uhm. Let's just say they could settle their differences."

...

In the corner booth in the restaurant, Beca, Chloe, Benji and Bumper were sitting at a table full of emptied dishes. They were in the middle of a round of _'Would you rather'_, when Jesse and Aubrey came in, hand in hand. Wordlessly, everyone moved up to make space for them and Chloe just shot Aubrey a knowing look.

"_Would you rather_ have some time alone?"

Aubrey smiled and shook her head. This was perfect.


	15. Chapter 15

**[A/U1]: **Okay, this should have been a short fluffy filler chapter, but somehow it got out of hand. Well.

I don't own nothing but the plot. Leave a review. Or don't. Be happy and free :)

* * *

**Chapter 15 - The summer in between**

"You can put them in here." Bumper held up the bag he had draped around his shoulders.

"Are you sure? It's gonna melt, you know?"

"It's not a usual bag, Stace. Can I call you Stace? Anyway, watch this." He opened the bag and revealed a cooling compartment with a cold pack inside.

Stacie laughed and put the just bought popsicles into the black bag. "You're not serious! Why would you even have such a thing? Please tell me you don't have it with you, like, all the time?"

"Well, believe it or not, but I like my drinks cold when I spent time outside in the summer. And we can use it in the stadium as well. Two bird with one stone." Bumper replied happy and put his sunglasses on. "Let's get our Applebaums."

Together, Bumper and Stacie strolled through the streets to the police station where Benji and Emily were busy attending the lineup of potential perpetrators. About three weeks after the testimony in the hospital, they were informed that a hand full of possible suspects were apprehended and that both should come by the station the next day to identify their tormentor.

Bumper and Stacie quickly proposed to pick them up after the lineup as moral support. Soon after, the four of them decided that they might as well call this a double date and attend the football game of Bumper's twin brother a bit later that day.

The two sat down on a bench in front of the precinct and enjoyed the sun; watching people passing by, humming the last song they heard on the radio and trying to outdo each other in Snake on Bumper's Nokia. Eventually, Stacie spoke up.

"So, you and Ben are official now?"

Bumper nodded, smiling. "For almost a week now. I'm really happy with it."

"And you already introduce him to you brother? You don't waste time, don't you?" Stace grinned and nudged him in his side.

"I mean, Chad is my twin. He knows everything about me and vice versa, so. He knows I date him for some time now anyway."

"Is he cool with everything?"

"Yeah, definitely. He's straight as an arrow but I'm afraid he just cannot help it." Bumper winked and got rewarded with a bright smile from Stacie. "He can be a big jerk though, I'm not gonna lie. Bit full of himself since he became quarterback."

"Ahh, yes. The good old powerful quarterback position. Is this a guy thing, or…? I really don't get it. I'm glad that Barden's football team isn't that famous or otherwise everyone would expect I'd date this boring white bread Finn Hudson." She shuddered.

"Oh, don't ask me. I'm not really into football; it can be so full of toxic masculinity. No, thank you." Bumper replied.

Stacie smiled and watched the nurse from the side. "You know what? I like you, Bumper. You're good for Ben."

"I hope so."

"Yeah, you are. His ex was an asshole. He always treated him like a dirty little secret from what I overheard. I'm glad you two met."

"Me too Stacie, me too."

Not long after, a well-known voice chimed up behind them. "Look at them, sitting there like an old couple ready to feed some birds. Hey, sexy lady" Emily said, bending down to Stacie to kiss her. Next to her, Benji copied her move.

"Hey beautiful! How did it go?" Stacie asked while standing up. She wrapped her arms around Emily and tried to read her facial expression; something was up. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. _We_ are fine, right Ben?" Her cousin nodded. "They have this asshole inside and we could identify him."

"That's good, right? Now they can charge him?"

"They will eventually, but…" Emily trailed off and bit her lip.

"But?"

"Well, since you've also seen him the other night and kind of rescued me, they want to talk to you as well. It won't take long, just a few minutes. I mean that's what they said. Would that be ok?" Emily looked at her girlfriend and then at the other two.

"Of course I will testify against him!" Stacie hugged Emily tightly and kissed her. "This is important, come on, let's go."

"Take your time, the game isn't until five pm and _even if_ we got there late, this is more important!" Bumper agreed.

Both of them went inside and Benji took Stacie's place on the bench. "I hope you didn't have to wait for too long?" he asked Bumper who put his arm around his shoulders.

"No, not at all. Besides, Stacie is good company. She's almost as good in Snake as I am."

"Is she now? Watch out, the Snake king is about to get dethroned."

"We'll see about that." Bumper chuckled and kissed Benji's temple. "Was it okay in there?"

"Yeah, it was. Emily and I had each other's back and the suspects didn't see us. They were behind this large glass panel and looked all grumpy. We could identify this jerk pretty quickly and they wrote down our short testimony again and said that this would be enough, but even more reliable with an additional confirmation and statement by Stacie" Benji replied.

"I hope this bastard goes to jail. What about his companions?"

"They got one of them and already questioned him, apparently he admitted to everything, but the third got away. He's still on the run but they're confident that the others will tell them his whereabouts."

"Finger's crossed. I'm very proud of you. Of both of you. It takes courage to confront someone like that."

"Thanks." Benji grinned sheepishly and nudged Bumper's nose with his before he pecked his lips. "Oh man, we should probably stop this sappy couple stuff when the girls come back. Stacie won't miss any opportunity to tease us about it."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Bumper opposed, "she's so head over heels with Emily and secretly would love to do all this _sappy couple stuff_. Trust me; she has this look on her face every time the girl appears."

"Hm. I'll make sure to see that. So what did you two talk about while we were gone? Are you like, besties now? Rivalry with Chloe?" Benji asked smiling.

"Maybe that should be something I pursued; I mean you have Aubrey and if you two go into bff mode… oh boy."

"That's not true!" Benji laughed and poked Bumper. "We're just often on the same page, that's all!"

"Yeah, sure."

"Aw, are you jealous? Don't be. _She might say hi and I might say hey, but you shouldn't worry, about what we say, 'cause she's got nothin' on youuu, baby_…_'_"

Bumper's face took a crimson color. "Stop singing, Ben, you're getting me all flustered." He looked around but nobody in their vicinity cared for them and he leaned back.

"Well, that was the point."

"Yeah, yeah. So do you want your ice cream or what?" Bumper smiled and reached for his bag and opened it.

"You brought ice cream?" Benji asked excited and reached into the bag.

"Yeah; Stacie and I thought you could use some treats after this thing here."

"You're like, the cutest, you know? Thank you."

...

Inside the station, Stacie and Emily waited for the police officer to give them the o.k. to leave. The interrogation went smoothly and they just used Stacie's statement to complete their report, so it really took just a few minutes.

"Thank you for doing this." Emily whispered while they lounged in the waiting area.

"Babe, you don't need to thank me for it. I mean it's not as if I could refuse to give evidence and even if I could… why do you have the need to thank me?" Stacie asked irritated.

"I just don't want to be a burden." Emily mumbled into Stacie's neck.

Stacie winced internally. She knew where this was coming from. "Wha-, are you serious, now? You're _not_ a burden! You've _never_ been one!" She sighed. "Em, I'm really sorry if I ever gave you the impression you would be less than wonderful. I'm sorry for letting you think it was just a… a sex thing. I'm really glad we talked about everything and I'm _so_ happy to be with you. Really." She squeezed the younger one's hand and kissed her head.

"I'm really happy, too" Emily replied smiling and moved closer.

"Good. I'm not letting you go again; you know?"

"I won't go anywhere."

Just in time, the police officer came back and gave them the signal to be free to go. Emily grabbed Stacie's hand and dragged her towards the exit. When they stepped into the sun, they leant to each other again and kissed.

"We should probably stop this sappy couple stuff; Benji won't miss any opportunity to tease us about it" Emily whispered grinning when they came closer to their friends.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, they're head over heels for each other… _too_" Stacie answered, right before they reached the bench where Bumper and Beni were sitting cuddled up.

She sneaked closer. "Who's ready for some college football?"

They made their way through the early afternoon traffic of Atlanta and arrived still quite early at the Bobby Dodd stadium of Georgia Tech's football team. Bumper was recognized as Chad's twin and they were allowed to already get in and take their seats. The stadium was not open for public yet; there were still a few minutes left till admittance, so except for a few other people, they were the only group on the stands.

On the field, the home team did their warmup; jumping jacks, sprints, stretches and more. The four of them were sitting pretty far down, thanks to Bumper's relationship to the quarterback. From time to time, they could hear the players shouting things; as well as Chad's commands.

"_Hey Bryce, remember when you passed the ball and it flew right past me, I wanted to _choke _you!"_

Some minutes later, someone of the college newspaper apparently interviewed him on the side of the field. They must have asked some uncommon question, to which Chad answered offended. _"What do you think, huh? Hard pass. Hard pass." _He flapped his cheeks. "_You know… the smell of your weird is actually effecting my muscle strength so I'm gonna need you to… scoot. Sca-daddle!"_

On the stalls, Stacie raised an eyebrow. "Your brother really is a ball of sunshine, isn't he?"

Next to her, Benji shrunk into his seat, while Bumper scratched his head. "Yeah, that's what I meant when I said he can be a jerk. Don't worry Ben, he's just stressed with the upcoming game. He still needs to prove himself in his position."

"Well, then let's hope the ramblin' wreck wins…"

It did, but only very narrowly with a score of 27 to 25. It was a tough game and the fans of North Carolina did their best to fill the air with their chants. Not very interested in the sport itself, Stacie had just enjoyed being able to copy Chicago's move from weeks ago, settling herself behind Emily and embracing her with the chin on her shoulder. Bumper and Benji had been a bit more invested in the game, since they kind of had a side to be on; they didn't miss the opportunity to hold hands peacefully though.

After the bleachers had emptied, Stacie and Emily stayed back in their seats, while Bumper and Benji went down to the entrance of the catacombs to meet Chad before dinner with the five of them. The women had a good view and watched them interact. Chad came out to meet them, his hair still damp from the shower he obviously took after the game. He smiled and approached his brother and Benji, who held out his hand, greeting him. Bumper apparently introduced him as his boyfriend and Chad declined the hand, enveloping Benji in a full body hug.

"Oh my stars, he's gonna crush him!" Emily gasped, while Stacie laughed with a hand covered mouth.

"Oh-oh, I don't think his ribs are fully healed yet."

Her hunch was confirmed when Benji's face scrunched up and Bumper waved his arms fearfully; the words _careful_ and _broken ribs_ echoing to the stalls.

When Chad let go horrified, excusing himself several times, Bumper looked up to Stacie and Emily and waved, signaling them to come down and join them.

* * *

Jesse pulled Aubrey closer and kissed her, which was feverishly reciprocated. They bumped into a canvas that was suspended in the hall and stumbled forward against the wall to avoid destroying anything. His hands wandered along her body, which fitted exceedingly well against his. Several small sighs escaped Aubrey and she cupped his neck to press him even closer. After several minutes of this semi-public make out session, Beca's voice unfortunately reached the room they hid in.

"I found them babe; they're in the last hall on the right" she shouted behind her and approached them. "Guys, if it were up to me, we wouldn't be here, but I remember _someone_ to be eager going to the exhibition after Benji raved about it."

Aubrey rolled her eyes and detached herself from Jesse. "Relax, Mitchell. I just needed a few minutes to process all the already acquired information" she replied and pulled her boyfriend with her. "It's not as if we didn't find _you two_ eating your faces as well for a few times today."

"It's not her fault she has an irresistible girlfriend" Chloe answered for Beca when she entered the hall, leaving it for the drummer to shoot Aubrey a smug smirk.

After Bumper and Benji had already seen the exhibition in celebration of Barden's birthday this week, Aubrey had insisted to do so as well, which was eagerly supported by Chloe. Jesse and Beca weren't thrilled by the suggestion, but the prospect of seeing their girlfriends and spending time together as a foursome won them over a bit. Besides, after all those events the girls supported them, they thought it was their turn to give something back. It was, however, as boring as anticipated; at least for the band members.

"Where are we, anyways?" Jesse asked and looked around.

Chloe read out the flyer. "The great hall, which was supposed to be a dining room for most of the 1700s, shows pictures of the former interior and construction plans of the west wing. Several renovations were made over the years to form the building it has become today."

Beca rolled her eyes. "Urgh, who would have thought, yet another old building and… stuff."

Chloe chuckled and pecked her on the lips. "I think I've seen a goal wall outside; how about you and Jesse warm up before Aubrey and I join you and I'll crush your score?"

"We'll see about that, Beale, I got better the last weeks."

"Hmm, sure, baby. Now go play while we look around."

"Pshh." Beca turned towards the exit, but got pulled back.

"I love you," Chloe whispered and squeezed her butt.

Beca grinned brightly. "I love you too."

Jesse passed her and bumped her shoulder. "Enough with the sappy stuff now Becs, show me watcha got! Last one's a chicken."

They ran out, almost tumbling over each other. Aubrey and Chloe looked after them and laughed when they nearly crashed into another group of visitors.

"Oh my god, they're like two little play buddies who just got allowed to get ice cream," Aubrey said with a bright smile.

"So true. Last time I checked, their passports said at least 21, but I'm not so sure about that sometimes."

"Well, what to expect from this tiny college kid of yours…"

"You'd be surprised what this tiny college kid is capable of…" Chloe replied winking, the tip of her tongue between her teeth.

"I don't even wanna know; the last time I almost caught you in the act is enough for me."

"Yeah, sorry again. I thought you'd come home later." Chloe looked apologetic and took a few steps to the next canvas. "So, you and Jesse seem fine; how is it going?"

"It's great, actually. I think it's even better then before he told me." Aubrey closed up and looked around, but the other group did already leave the hall and the two were alone. "This whole _talking about everything_ is a bit exhausting sometimes, but it's definitely worth it. I'm _really_ happy that we gave us another chance. Also because I would have missed out on his more intimate talents …" She said, grinning.

"Go get it, girl!" Chloe replied and nudged her side. "Good for both of you, Bree."

They moved on to the next picture and were quiet, reading the information.

"I'm going to miss this place." Chloe mumbled after a while.

"It's still another semester before we leave, Chloe."

"I know; and I'll probably be here often enough for Beca, but… it's so perfect right now, with you and Jesse, Stacie and Em, Benji and Bumper… I don't ever want this to end."

"Do you know where you wanna sign already?" Aubrey asked, referring to several offers from professional soccer teams.

"Not yet; honestly, I want to wait as long as I can. Maybe something will come up for the Trebles, then I can decide."

"Are you saying your decision depends on where Beca will end up?"

Chloe turned to Aubrey and bit her lip. "I don't know… It's not that important where I play I think, but they're a package deal, aren't they?" She looked to the ground and up again. "I really think she could be the one; you know? I don't want to lose her over something like a job."

Aubrey was quiet for a moment, thinking hard.

"You don't appreciate, am I right?" Chloe asked.

"I… no, my first thought was that I don't. But… you are so happy, much happier than you've ever been with Tom or anyone else… I'm not sure if this is the best idea, but I see where this comes from. You're one of those couples that annoys everyone with their love."

Chloe laughed and slowly turned towards the exit. "Beca and I talked about this already. She'd be ready to follow me as well, despite any musical development. I'm not so sure if that's possible, but she says that if the Trebles aren't getting a label, she could work somewhere else with her major or even do freelancing, so…"

"Then let's hope they're going to be discovered; someone needs to keep an eye on her and those troublemakers." Aubrey said.

"And that someone would be you, I suppose?"

"Hm…and you and Stacie, and Bumper…"

They left the exhibition and passed several other rooms they already visited. When they arrived at the goal wall outside, Jesse stood behind one of the holes and peeked through.

"Bet you can't hit my face, Mitchell?"

"Watch out, Jesse. Let's see if Aubrey still wants to make out with you if this ball already kissed your face!"

She took a run-up and kicked, catapulting the ball several feet over the wall. Jesse doubled up with laughter behind the wall and Beca went down on her knees. "Fuck!" She ruffled her hair. "Good thing Chlo isn't here…"

Her girlfriend's voice came up behind her. "Too late, baby," Chloe laughed and retrieved another ball lying in the grass. "Watch and learn."

She elegantly flipped the ball up with her foot and shot - right through the hole with Jesse behind.

"OUCH!"

"Jesse!" Aubrey shrieked and ran to him, disappearing behind the wall.

"Baby, you shot him in the face!" Beca exclaimed with wide eyes, shocked that Chloe would actually do that.

Her girlfriend only chuckled. "I did shoot in his direction, yes. He ducked away though; just wait."

They listened for a sign of relieve behind the wall and not long after, they could hear Aubrey.

"_Don't you dare pretend something like that again!"_

"See?" Chloe said and joined Beca, who sat in the grass and smiled incredulously. "He winked at me before I shot. I wouldn't dare to destroy the face of your lead singer one day before your great concert." She leaned against Beca, who let herself fall down on her back with Chloe on her.

"Come here. I got to protect you from the blonde devil that'll come back in a few." Beca put her arms over Chloe and kissed her head. It didn't take long for what she had assumed was going to happen. Aubrey voice carried over.

"Chloe Beale!"

* * *

It was a nice summer evening, similar to the last days - still warm enough to only wear shorts and t-shirt or a dress until late at night. Several groups of people had already gathered around the old open-air theater of Barden, looking for a good spot. Till now, the celebration week was a moderate success; the exhibitions had been mainly visited by parents or families with kids. The Trebles however could be sure about the support of their little fan community that had developed in the last month whenever they played at Jeffrey's and so the place was getting more crowded by the hour - the event being amateurly advertised in pubs and shops near Barden.

Right now, a violin quartet used the stage and played classical music, which was probably enjoyed only by members of the college board. The younger audience wasn't thrilled, but took it as a chance to refill drinks or play another round of frisbee or Flunkyball.

Eventually the last notes of the violin quartet fell silent and Beca, standing next to the stage, took a deep breath. The voice of the host (one of the professors) sounded through the large speakers set up in the front.

"…_and that was the performance of the Violas, thank you, you were exquisite!"_

The four members took their instruments and music stands and left the stage, after bowing slightly and the host stepped up.

"_Okay, um, let me just check my notes…" _He rummaged through several cards in his hand until he obviously found the right one. _"So, as I see here, we have a break of 30 minutes, followed by the concluding speech of the master. The closing performance will be held by… the Treblemakers! Ha! What a pun, huh? Great."_

He was met with loud cheering from the crowd when he mentioned the Trebles.

"_I see there are already some fans here, good to know… okay everyone, it has been a great day up to now and I hope you're all doing fine. Thank you for coming, stay with us and enjoy the speech and some rock music brought to you by some of our very own students!"_

He waved with his cards and left the stage; quieter random chart music now sounding through the speakers. Beca waited until she was approached by the professor.

"Ms. Mitchell?"

Beca nodded.

"Mrs. Alvarez will take the stage in about 30 minutes and I was told she'll speak for about 20. You'll have enough time to prepare whatever you want to prepare after that and I think you'll be free to begin at about 7:30 pm. How long are you planning to perform? I have to remind you that our permit is only valid until 10 pm."

Beca listened and nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Schmidt. I appreciate your faith, but we won't play longer than 90 minutes" she replied smiling.

"Just as you please. But please remember that everything will be dismantled early tomorrow, so make sure your equipment is safe."

"Will do, Mr. Schmidt."

"Good. I'll make my way over to the hot dog booth then."

The professor bid his goodbye and left, leaving Beca next to the stage. She turned as well and walked behind it, over the lawn, passing groups of students on blankets with drinks in their hands. She arrived at several particularly large blankets and sat down to be greeted by Chloe in her sunglasses, who grabbed her collar and pulled her close to fuse their lips.

"How is the best drummer on earth doing?" Chloe asked, when they parted.

"I don't know, ask Sheila E."

Chloe slapped her lightly. "Okay, let me rephrase it; how's the sexiest drummer on earth doing?"

Beca grinned and thought of another snarky comment, but decided against it. "I'm good, thanks babe. You?" When Chloe nodded smiling, she turned to her friends sitting on the blankets as well.

"Yo guys, listen up. Schmiddi says we can do our set up in like an hour or something. Make sure everyone is fed and hydrated well. And no secret make out sessions before the performance!"

Everyone nodded or hummed in agreement, except for Emily who lay on top of Stacie and laughed. "Same goes for you two! No petting in the exhibition area!"

Beca turned to Aubrey with narrowed eyes, who shrugged grinning. "I didn't know it was a secret; you shouldn't have gotten caught by us then."

"Whatever. Yeah, this goes for everyone, including me. Us! I want us all to be focused!" Beca said, again eyeing her friends. Behind her, a familiar voice came up.

"Uh, that doesn't include me, right? Otherwise I'm sure I can find a good cop-out to the prim shit you've going on here…"

Chloe's face lit up when she saw the person behind Beca. "Hey Fat Amy, nice to see you again!" She answered, telling her to sit down with them. "I'm sure Beca can make an exception for you, don't you baby?" she winked and moved a bit to leave space for Amy.

"Good, cause I've already seen a few good lookin' blokes." Amy said and sit down. She looked around and spotted a new face. "Speaking of hot meat… who's this nice fellow next to you, Benji?" She crawled on all fours in Bumper's direction, who's eyes flicked from her to Benji and back.

"Hey Amy, this is my boyfriend Bumper. Bumper, this is Fat Amy, a friend of ours and Beca's dorm mate."

"Oh." Amy deadpanned and crawled back with a disappointed look on her face. "Well, good for you then."

Bumper chuckled and waved. "Sorry… _Fat_ Amy? Nice to meet you." He looked nervously to Benji when he said her name, but his boyfriend nodded approvingly.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too." She waved. "No worries, plenty of other oxes in the paddock."

...

Mrs. Alvarez speech was boring so to speak; at least the bit that flowed to the group of friends behind the stage. After she had finished, the musicians got up and approached the bandstand to set up everything. Most of the instruments were already there, hidden in the corners of the stage. They just had to position and connect them while making sure the volume was okay and no instrument was distorted or too low. They did test it early in the morning, but who knows who maybe had bumped into an amplifier or a microphone over the day.

Eventually, everything was prepared and ready to go. It was 7:20 pm. Emily, Beca, Benji and Lilly stood behind the stage and formed a circle. Soon, Jesse joined them.

"Guys, have you seen how many people are here?" Jesse asked nervously. "Okay I know, you can see through the stage and we're open air and everything. But have you seen how many fucking people are here?"

"Dude, chill! Yeah, we've seen it. This is so not the time to panic!" Beca answered but swallowed thickly.

"How many are there? I didn't dare to look" Emily mumbled and squinted her eyes.

"There are billions…" Lilly's whispered voice sounded ominous while she stared at the sky.

Benji wanted to laugh, but his stomach churned nervously. "The stands are full. Like, bursting. People sit on the ground in front of the stage, too."

Jesse cleared his throat and made a serious face to begin his kind-of-locker-room-speech. "Alright. Trebles! This is what we wanted, right? This is what we're here for. This is what we're best at! We have the songs, we have some fans who support us, we have-"

"You forgot us!" Stacie shouted. She approached the group together with Aubrey, Chloe and Bumper, who all joined the circle with her. "This is much better I'd say."

"Agreed" he replied. The others smiled and nodded and the group managed to relax for a moment. "As I said… we have some fans who support us, we have these awesome people here who we love," he squeezed Aubrey's hand, "and we're _so_ _up for this_, aren't we?" he shouted and everyone agreed with _yes! _and _let's do this_!

"Okay, hands in the center, Trebles on three!"

"_On_ three or _after_ three?" Stacie asked but was shushed by Emily.

A few minutes later, Aubrey, Chloe, Stacie and Bumper went through the crowd to the seats Fat Amy had kept clear for them, as always. When they had settled, Jesse's amplified voice sounded through the open-air theater.

"_What's up Baardeeeeeeeen!" _Cheering and whistling answered him.

"_God damn, you're so fuuh..dging many! Sorry for swearing Mr. Schmidt." _He pointed to the side somewhere.

"_Okay, for those of you who don't know who we are… we are the Treblemakers. Don't you know who I think I am?"_


	16. Chapter 16

**[A/N1]: **This turned out to be more difficult than anticipated; I really had a hard time to wrap this up somehow; hence the long update time… While there will be an epilogue (which is already outlined so I think it'll be out sooner), this is somehow the end of the story for now. I have some ideas for this universe, but I'll focus more on one-shots from now on (what a stupid idea to begin writing ff with a multichap fic? lol). A big thank you to everyone who read, commented (shout out to somethingthatismine and malexfaith), and left kudos!

For those who are interested, there's a spotify pl for this fic in chronological order: playlist/62JeKrKNAwgzgI9IBhfLBY?si=7Aogu_ssSpaRdePf8PKF-A

I'm not tooo pleased with this chapter, but I needed to get it out. It has several song lines, but hey; it's a concert. Leave a comment. Or don't. Be happy and free. Happy pride month! 😊

Songs (all FOB, most a bit altered to fit the story):

Don't you know who I think I am?

I don't care

The (shipped) golden standard

Where did the party go

* * *

**Chapter 16 - Where did the party go?**

The characteristically powerful guitar sounds hit the theater. It was awkward at first - only the more "loyal" fans, who had been there since the beginning, instantly started to dance, shove, and cheer. A large part of the crowd remained just curious though, slightly nodding their head with the beat, if anything.

They would catch up.

At least that was what went through Jesse's head, as he started the chorus and focused on the people right in front of the stage. He didn't need to look for the others - they were there. Somewhere in the crowd, probably right across the stage on the large steps; dancing, waving their hands in the air while carefully avoiding to spill their drinks on the people in front of them.

He concentrated on his guitar riff while being backed up by Benji and Emily.

"…_broken down on memory lane, alone together, we're alone…"_

...

Three more songs later, the last syllableleft his mouth and the formerly dancing lot in front of him applauded and cheered.

"_Thank you pals! It's so nice to see you here, hey what's up!" _he pointed in the direction of some people he recognized from the gigs at Jeffrey's. _"So, apparently there are a _feeeew _more people here than at other occasions…" _Laughter went through the theater and some people answered him by whistling.

"_I thought you could take a minute to introduce you to us, what do you say? So who's a rightful student of this 500-year-old institution, huh? Raise your hands!" _The largest part of the crowd raised their hands; including Benji and Beca on stage, who held up her sticks.

"_Okay, thought so much, and which one of you did like the violin quartet better up to this point?"_

Most of the raised hands disappeared, save for several hands full, which belong mainly to older people.

"_Ah, I see. Sorry mom and dad, you have to wait till you get home to listen to this stuff again." _He fiddled with his effect pedal at his feet to change the sound of his guitar and continued the small back and forth with the audience.

In the stands, Chloe turned to Aubrey. "He is surprisingly cocky tonight."

"I know, right!? You should've seen him yesterday evening. He was a nervous wreck, pacing up and down his matchbox of an apartment." Aubrey answered with wide eyes.

Chloe scoffed and nodded. "Oh I can imagine, Beca was the same. I couldn't even calm her down with-"

"I don't want to hear anything if it's sex related; I know too much already."

"Calm down, Bree. I was going to say a shoulder massage."

"Oh."

"…and oral" Chloe chuckled.

Aubrey groaned, which caught the attention of Stacie.

"Who's getting oral?"

"Stacie!" Aubrey squeaked, which prompted Stacie to smirk and wiggle her eyebrows.

"What? Please, you don't need to be this prude, we're _all_ doing it."

"I can agree with this." Bumper added, as he leaned over Stacie to join the conversation. Aubrey covered her face with her hands and sighed.

Amy leaned back and stroked her arm awkwardly with her pointer finger. "Don't worry Posen. Although it's weird you save yourself until marriage, the day will come. And then you will be open for all of this, like a flower deciding to blossom for the first ti-"

Aubrey interrupted her annoyed. "I'm not _saving myself_ until marriage, Fat Amy, what makes you think I didn't-"

"Sshhh, your boy is talking," Amy shushed her by putting her finger on Aubrey's lips, who flinched.

"…_is so much fun with you! Okay I really think we should get on with it, we promised to make music in the end. Oh and hey Violas! You were great! Give it up for the violas, guys!" _His pick was clamped between his lips while he clapped distinctly.

"_For those of you who have been following us for some time now; this is nothing you've heard before, so try to keep up! This one's for those who think we'd give a fudge about their opinion…"_

Beca hit her sticks together and the beats of their last songs developed started. "_I don't care_" was one of Stacie's new favorite songs now, and she whistled loudly while feeling goosebumps on her skin. _The best of us can find happiness in misery._

* * *

About three-quarters of an hour had passed since the Trebles had started the session and Jesse announced the planned break. At this point, the majority of the crowd indeed did catch up and energy was buzzing through the stands. Many people got up from their seats to get drinks, look for the toilets or stretch their legs.

"I'll head down to Jess for a bit, anyone coming with me?" Aubrey asked as she took her cup from the floor and fastened her bag.

"I'm coming with you; I need to get my hands on Emily."

"Gross, Stacie. Can't hold back for a few more hours?"

"Hm, no?" She smirked, "I promise it stays PG-13 though."

Aubrey scoffed. "Sure... what about you, Chlo?"

Chloe looked up from her phone, texting back and forth with Beca. "Uh, no I'm good. I was just told very charmingly over text that she doesn't need me there, too much of a distraction apparently." She chuckled and grinned. "Can't blame her though."

"I won't even ask why all of a sudden everyone acts like horny teenagers. You?" Aubrey turned to look questioningly at Bumper, who was nursing his drink.

"Oh, uh no, I have to wait for Chad, he's about to get here anytime now."

"I'll stay here, Bumper, you can go if you want!" Chloe said, "I mean… you look alike, don't you? I'm pretty sure I'll recognize him." She beamed at him encouraging.

"Yeah pretty much… in that case, I'm in. Thanks!"

Aubrey gesticulated impatiently, "Now that that's settled, let's go; I want to get there before the breaks over."

"Aye mam!" Stacie answered and pulled Bumper with her.

Not much later, Fat Amy's voice re-appeared next to Chloe and startled the redhead, who was still texting with her drummer.

"Jesus! Where did you come from? When did you even leave?"

"Can't a girl leave before the break to get a… smoothie?"

"Wha-? Where did you get this, they don't even sell this here?" Chloe asked, her eyes flickering between Fat Amy and the large cup of green liquid.

"I have my sources… want some?" She held the cup to Chloe, the straw dangerously close to the redhead's nose.

"No… thank you."

"You sure? It's good."

"No, I-, sorry I have to text back, excuse me…" Chloe quickly sat down on the step and became absorbed in her phone.

Fat Amy just shrugged at her reaction and let her eyes wander around for some time, scanning the crowd for familiar faces or for those who looked worthy enough to become familiar (even if only for a short time). She saw Bumper getting back and greeted him with a nod. When nothing came back, she turned to him again and he eyed her, up and down.

"What?"

His gaze was disparaging. "You… are probably the grossest human being I've ever seen."

Fat Amy raised her eyebrow. "Psshh… no need to be a dick about it, I backed off earlier didn' I?

He furrowed his brows. "Backed off? Huh. Okay…"

"What's gotten in your knickers?"

"Knickers? What are you, some snobbish boarding school chick?"

"What are _you_, some annoying ugly iffy mongrel? She turned around, facing him with open arms.

"No, that's not. No. Those words do not exist you know."

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah!"

Both started to just stare at each other, eyes narrowed. Their mouths trembled as if to say something snappy, but both remained silent for a while, until he crossed his arms.

"So I have a feeling… that we should… kiss. Is that feeling a-"

Fat Amy retreated. "Well, I sometimes have a feeling I can do crystal-, wait a second, are you still with Benji or did you two broke up in the last ten minutes?"

He gave her a puzzling look, when three known faces appeared behind him.

"Hey, I see you found us!" Bumper put his arm around Bumpers shoulders.

_What?_

Amy skeptically looked back and forth between the two figures. "What is this, some sick joke?" She examined her smoothie. Had she accidentally repeated this unpromising order that happened before, a few years back, which got her end up at east coast beach, only clad in a hot dog costume?

"I see you've already met Chloe and Fat Amy," Bumper continued, "this is Aubrey and Stacie. Girls, this is my brother Chad."

Thank god it was not the smoothie. Amy nodded relieved.

When everyone was introduced, Amy and Chad ended up standing next to each other, bickering who would take up too much space, until being reprimanded by Aubrey. Both shared a meaningful look and Amy wordlessly offered Chad a sip of her smoothie.

...

The lights on stage went on again; Jesse tapped on the microphone and spoke up.

"_It's good to see you're still here! For a moment I was afraid you all had to do something better…" _He grinned at something that was said right in front of the stage.

"_No more classical music bashing tonight, folks! The next song is something really personal and I struggled with the idea of publishing it, but a lot of things happened the last months that made me re-consider and I'm glad to have people backing me up, not just right know," _he pointed behind him, _"but in my life."_

He started to play a guitar riff, which was soon replaced by a slow beat and

Emily's rhythm guitar.

"_Sometimes I want to quit this all and become an accountant now;_

_but I'm no good at math and besides, the dollar is down…_

_Plant palm trees on Lake Michigan before it gets cold,_

_I gotta feel the wind chill again before I get old…_

_I want to scream "I love you" from the top of my lungs_

_but I'm afraid that someone else will hear me…_

_You can only blame your problems on the world for so long,_

_before it all becomes the same old song…_

_As soon as I hit the hospital, I know I'm gonna leave this town_

_And get'a new passport and get, get, get, get, get out now…"_

Aubrey smiled proudly in the direction of the stage. She and Jesse spent several evenings in the last weeks talking about his past and his hometown near Chicago. What he had to endure with his family, that so easily abandoned him due to him being himself, and the people he lost on the way.

In the end, he decided to finish the song, the basic structure of which had been written for a few years. Part of her wished that she were the one giving him a bit of the safety he needed to take this step.

While she and her friends swayed to the song, no one noticed the figure standing a few steps above them, intently speaking into their phone over the loud music.

"_No Jon, you need to hear this now!" _The figure held up their phone facing the stage for several seconds and then continued the call. _"They're really good. I think they're exactly what we need. You're looking for someone signing to _Fueled by Sushi, _well here you go."_

...

The sun started to settle slowly and the Trebles noticed the strain of the last days in their bones, when there was only one song left on their setlist (even if it was a small setlist).

Beca kicked the base drum with a straight beat, while Lilly played a bass riff over the steady pounding. Jesse exchanged a few words with Benji and Emily, unheard by the audience, before he took a large sip of his water and addressed the crowd.

"_Barden… this has been the most amazing evening with you… I'm sure you know what's coming. Everything has to end… and unfortunately I have to confirm your deepest concerns…"_

The base drum and bass riff continued.

"_This is our last song for tonight. A big thank you goes out to the board who chose us instead of a boring DJ…"_

Several agreeing boos from the crowd sounded through the theater.

"_Thank _you_ so, so much for supporting us," _he pointed at the audience from left to right and back, _"you're the best! …And thanks to our most personal groupies," _his arm moved in the direction where their friends and lovers were standing, _"who inspired us to write this song without their knowledge… this is the one we've been keeping from you." _He winked, grinning, before his attention moved back to the general crowd.

"_Okay everyone, you hear that?" _Jesse pointed over his shoulder in the rough direction of Beca and Lilly and tapped his foot along with the beat.

"_Show us some love and join me!" _He started clapping with the beat and waited a bit until most of the crowd followed his example. _"Okay, not bad! Let's add something to it, won't we? Repeat after me… Na na na na na na na na na na!"_

After his last 'na', he pointed at the audience, expecting them to echo the short words. Not everyone did catch up that fast, so he repeated the line.

"_You can do better Barden, come on! Na na na na na na na na na na!" _

This time, much more people got it correct and he decided to play the game for a few beats, each time starting the exchange so the crowd knew when to echo his words.

Then he stopped and the song started by Emily and Beca taking over the intro.

In contrast to everyone's expectation, it wasn't Jesse who sang the first lines, but Beca.

"_I'm here to collect your heart…_

_it's the only reason that I sing -_

_I don't believe a word you say but I can't stop listening…"_

Unprepared, Chloe had to sob shortly. All those times in the past when she playfully argued with Beca why she wouldn't sing, not even a little bit of the backup parts, flowed into her mind. The small brunette couldn't be convinced that her voice would fit with those of the three other vocals and had the opinion that it was merely her job to provide the rhythm. Apparently, they had all decided to make an exception; Chloe knew that these lines had to be directed at her and couldn't but swoon a bit.

After Beca, Jesse took over and pointed in their direction, which caused Chloe to nudge Aubrey with a wide grin.

"_This is the story of how we met,_

_her picture was on the back of a pack of cigarettes;_

_when she touched me, I turned ruby red,_

_a story that we'll never forget,_

_never forget"_

With the bridge, he again addressed the crowd, who was still clapping.

"_And all the boys are smoking menthols,_

_girls are getting back rubs;_

_I will drift to you if you make yourself shake fast enough…"_

He jumped up and down, at least to an extent that was still possible while playing guitar, and came to a halt when he belted out the chorus.

"_Whoa, where did the party go?_

_We're ending it on the phone;_

_I'm not gonna go home alone,_

_whoa, where did the party go? Now Barden! Na na na na na na na na na na!"_

He repeated the game with the crowd from before for a few beats, until not he himself, but Emily opened the next verse.

"_I know I expect too much…_

_and not enough all at once;_

_I know you only wanted fun then you got me all fucked up… on love"_

In the crowd, Stacie looked at the stage and smirked heavily. This cheeky bit of a guitarist _had_ to make a part about their… past. The moment was over quick though when Benji took over the verse and the friends looked at Bumper, whose face was crimson red.

"_Oh, I hoped for your name on the Ouija board,_

_and your naked magic, oh dear Lord!_

_You and me are the difference between real love and the love on TV, love on TV"_

Stacie couldn't make out his words while Jesse belted out the bridge and the chorus again, but she was pretty sure, judging by the incredulous look on his face, Chad was screaming "_naked magic?_" at Bumper.

"… _so let's fade away together one dream at a time…"_

The last line of the bridge faded out and the base and bass riff from the beginning took over again. The energy in the air was cutting.

"_This was it, Barden… " _Jesse clearly was out of breath and needed a few beats to recover. Meanwhile, Beca and Lilly continued the rhythm, while every now and then Emily played a few chords.

"_Thanks again for being here! … Are you ready for one last chorus?"_

The crowd answered by cheering loudly and Jesse grinned like a Cheshire cat. Beca introduced the refrain with a drum riff and now all the Trebles (except for Lilly, who stared blankly into the crowd) joined in.

"_Whoa, where did the party go?_

_We're ending it on the phone_

_We're not gonna go home alone_

_Whoa, where did the party go?_

_Na na na na na na na na na na…"_

The music and beat stopped, except for Emily's soft strokes on the guitar. Then the stage lights went out for good.


	17. Chapter 17

**[A/N]: **Warning! Heavy fluff, cheesiness and (unrealistic?) queer happy endings on the horizon. Take cover. You're ready? No? Too late.

a.k.a. the world is cruel (this year especially) and we can all use some queer happiness, am I right?

Thanks for sticking with me. I started writing this because I turned to fanfiction again when I was in a dark place mentally and I wanted to give something back, so… maybe I got this right _somehow_. Stay safe everyone. And wear a mask in public! :]

Here's the Spotify PL again (finished): playlist/62JeKrKNAwgzgI9IBhfLBY?si=7Aogu_ssSpaRdePf8PKF-A

Leave a review. Or don't. Be happy and free :)

* * *

**Chapter 17 - Encore (epilogue)**

.

**Two weeks later**

Emily wiggled in her airline seat and leaned over to Beca, sitting next to her. "My stars, I almost forgot-", she shoved the flyer in the small brunettes face and tipped her finger on a picture, "we _need_ to get up the empire state building!"

Beca startled and sighed. "Em, we will do all of this, if you'd just let me sleep for a few minutes, please?" The tone of her voice was a bit whiny and indicated that this was not the first time Emily interrupted her peace. Also not the second time.

"Sorry, Becs. I'm just so excited! I mean hello? New York, baby! But I'll let you get some rest now. Long night?"

Beca had already closed her eyes again and hummed, head propped up on a small pillow which was stuck between her seat and the small window. "Chlo thought I could sleep_ on the plane_, so we stayed up pretty late."

"U-huh…"

Beca snorted, eyes still closed but able to make out the teasing anyway. "There's this new streaming service called Netflix. Chloe wanted to check it out and we kept finding shows and movies she'd like to watch," she elaborated, voice drowsy.

It was quiet for several minutes while Emily turned on the little display on the back of her front seat and looked for signs of this new host. Unfortunately, the airline didn't have it; all she could find was a mix of movies that came out last year and the newest sitcoms. She turned to Beca again and whispered.

"So what shows are on this Netflix?"

"Em!" Beca groaned. "Please, just shut your little mouth and let. Me. Sleep. Urgh, I'm also really hungry… Why don't they serve food on this flight?" Beca mumbled and turned away from Emily, facing the window with its blind closed now.

Emily giggled softly and readjusted the blanket over Beca's feet. "Maybe because it's just about two hours long?"

"Two fifteen if there's headwind."

"Sorry again. I'll be quiet as a mouse now."

Fifteen minutes later, the board crew loudly announced the final descent.

_We are happy to inform you that we are now beginning our landing approach. Please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts,…_

"Seriously?!" Beca huffed and sat upright. Emily pouted pitiful and handed her some chocolate she picked up earlier in the waiting area, which caused Beca's face to soften as she eagerly took the sweets.

Emily turned around to look a bit down the aisle, where Jesse and Benji were sitting (where was Lilly again?). Jesse looked drowsy, only waking up now, while Benji grinned brightly and waved at her. She grinned and waved back. Hard to believe they were actually on their way to the big apple…

_Two weeks earlier_

_After the lights went out for good, the Trebles were met with applause and whistles. It had taken some time before most of the crowd had disappeared and they could begin to gather their important stuff; the rest would be locked up in small containers they had lent from the opera Beca's mom had connections to._

"_Okay guys, the van is stuffed. Anything left?" Beca shouted while closing the two doors at the back of her car._

"_We're clear. I'll take my guitar back to my apartment; it needs new strings anyway…" Jesse replied._

"_Make sure to cut the overhangs this time, it looks ridiculous to have those loose ends hanging there like bad curled locks," Emily remarked sniggering. _

_She closed her guitar case and put it over her shoulders, ready to join the others on the picnic blankets again. Turning around, she saw two figures approaching them. One was wearing a sweatshirt with a baseball cap under the hood, while the other - tall and athletic - apparently accompanied the first. _

"_Can we help you?" Emily asked skeptically._

_It began to dawn, so she could only really see their faces when the strangers stepped into the blaze of the small headlight that was on the side of the stage. She didn't know the tall one; female features, blonde hair to a ponytail and impressive biceps visible even under the suit jacket they were wearing. She recognized the other face though; she'd seen it often enough on MTV._

"_You're Brendon Urie…" Emily stammered and made a step backwards._

_Beca and Jesse turned around._

"_Yeah, hi there!" The figure lifted its cap and made a waving motion at the group. "So, this performance you gave tonight was really impressive. You don't happen to already have a potential label, do you?"_

_From then on everything went fast. Benji and Lilly joined them and they all chatted for a bit, exchanging names and contact details. Brendon had a casual character and joked around with them, while his security guard Kara remained silent and stoic. At some point their better halves came over to see what took them so long, but they hung back when they realized what was really going on. At the end of the evening, the Treblemakers were richer by a business card and a promise for further details about their upcoming travel to New York..._

After a quick break in the hotel to freshen up, they drove straight to the given address. Albeit it wasn't as wealthy as the big players in the industry, the label insisted on providing them with a personal driver. While they were familiar with a big city like Atlanta, none of them had ever been to New York, and they stuck to the windows of the black van like excited children, pointing to various buildings, flashing lights, and everything worth a look. Lilly eyed the driver suspiciously and made suggestions which route would be the fastest, but none of the others were brave enough to investigate why she should know something like this.

The meeting was better than the last they had in this context from every point of view. Similar to their first experience, they also used the little in-house studio to present some of their songs (although this time, Jesse did bring his own guitar. With clipped strings.), which were received with great enthusiasm. No one wanted to change their appearance, their music style, or their personality; actually, Brendon and Jon, the current bassist, showed a great interest in their lyrics.

Three days after their initial meeting, many conversations, and a fast-as-lighting skim through the contract by Aubrey, the Trebles sat down with Brendon (and the still stone-faced Kara) for burgers and beer in a cozy diner and toasted to what seemed an exciting future.

.

**About 1.5 years later**

The sequin imprint on her snapback reading "Sky Blue FC" reflected the flood lights of the stadium in various colors - it was a unicum which existed thanks to Chloe's persuasion skills. Beca took it off and swiped her forehead; the warm air of the day had accumulated in the arena and made her hair stick to her face. The first game of "The Beez" in the new founded _Women's Professional Soccer League_ clearly would remain in her memory. She took a swig of her iced tea and got comfortable in the stadium seat.

Next to her, Stacie fanned her face. "So, New Jersey, huh?" she asked with a smirk.

"Yeah… it's cozy" Beca shrugged, concentrating on the game.

"Cozy?"

"Yup. We have a nice neighborhood, nice neighbors… and it's not like we're living in _the south_, right? We just need like, 40 minutes to get to this tasty diner in Manhattan?"

"If there's not much traffic."

"Whatever, dude. I like our house. We need space, okay? Chloe needs the garden and the gym and I need space for my drums and stuff."

"No need to get all defensive, Beca" Stacie laughed and put her hand on Beca's shoulder. "I didn't mean to mock you. Well, not that much." She winked. "I'm glad you're happy, though. You do realize that you're the ones who'll host upcoming Treble-events and barbeques, right?"

"Because the town house you two are sharing with Bumper and Benji isn't large enough?"

"No, because you have a _garden_. I can't imagine dragging all the required stuff out to public barbeque places, and I want to be able to tan half-naked if I'm in the mood for it. No need for some needy New Yorkers to see more of this body than necessary."

Stace readjusted her sunglasses and shot Beca a smug look, who seemed to think about that suggestion for a minute.

"I don't think I'll have a problem with that."

"My, Ms. Mitchell! Your girlfriend is down there, playing her ass off!"

"She'd agree with me."

"I know, she would. One day, I'll get one of those, too."

"A girlfriend?" Beca asked, sticking her tongue out.

"Ha-ha. A _garden_, stupid."

Soon, just five minutes were left to play and Beca got nervous. It was a tie, 1:1 Beez vs. Boston Breakers, and she wanted nothing more for Chloe than to win her first real professional game. Sure, she had played a few friendlies and was substituted for a couple of times at the end of some games. This time though, she played from the beginning, being one of the top defenders.

The opposing team started their attack, coming over the left wing, dribbling its way through the midfield. Suddenly, the attacking player was before Chloe, who stood her ground and managed to snatch the ball away. She jumped over the foot trying to trip her up and looked over the field, spotting one of the two strikers multiple yards away.

Aiming, run-up, deep breath, shot.

The ball flew through the air, landing almost perfectly in front of her team member Hannah, who dashed to her left and, with a successful feint, shot as well, placing the ball in the left corner of the goal.

The small stadium exploded and Beca jumped up, throwing her hands in the air. On the field, Chloe copied her move and ran up to Hannah to jump in her lap. After several seconds of cheering, everyone got back to their positions, but Chloe saw someone at the bottom of the grandstands waving a Sky Blue scarf like a maniac. On their head, the light glistened in various colors.

"Baby you did it!" Beca screamed at her when Chloe jogged close. A bright smile manifested on her face.

"There a _still_ three minutes to play you crazy monkey!" Chloe answered and stood on her tip-toes, grabbing Beca's face to kiss her. The surrounding fans got their cameras out and flashlight hit the pair.

"You know this will be on the tabloids tomorrow?" Beca mumbled against Chloe's lips and grinned.

"Hmm," Chloe hummed and pressed her lips on Beca's again. "I hope they got a good picture of us being _gal pals,_" she winked and stepped down again, expecting the whistle of the referee.

"Hurry up babe, they're waiting!" Beca shouted and shushed her away, right when the referee's whistle piped up.

Just a few minutes more.

.

**About 2 years later**

Benji and Beca sat in front of the large mixing board and mumbled something, before the drummer pressed the button on the intercom to talk to Brendon standing in the record booth. "Hey Brendon, when you do your first line, don't tiptoe in; sing it like _bam, here I come_, okay?"

"_Yeah, got ya"_

"Alright let's give it a go", she answered and started the music with Jesse's lines partially recorded.

…_on a passenger plane, passenger plane…_

Brendon waited for his cue and chimed in. _"Permanent jet lag… please take me back, please take me back… I'm a stray dog sick, please let me in; the mad key's tripping, singing vows before we exchange smoke rings"_

The music stopped a few bars after.

"That was really good!" Benji shouted from his place at the board.

"Yeah dude, that was great, I think we're through with this part" Beca agreed and pushed several buttons and levers. "So have you decided yet if you wanna have one microphone or one for you each?" Her look switched between Brendon and Jesse, who sat on the couch across them.

"Well, I mean, I don't know about you, but do you think these two inches could make a difference?" Jesse asked, gesticulating in Brendon's direction, who still stood in the booth.

"_Don't be so full of yourself, Jesse" _he laughed. _I think they'll hardly make a difference. Maybe you should start singing while sitting for a change?"_

Jesse turned to Beca, smirking. "We'll use one mic together then."

.

**About 4 years later**

"_Alright you guys, the next song has been in my head for a long time. But, you know, life needed to happen; good things, exhausting things, challenging things, happy things. Happy things most of the time I'm lucky to say. This one's for the two most important people in my life, I love you so much!"_

Jesse pointed smiling to his side somewhere in the large concert hall and put the microphone in the stand. Beca counted loudly by hitting her sticks together and started the song, playing her fast drum riff while joined by Emily.

"_Life's just a pace-car on death, only less diligent, _

_and when the two collide, it's no coincidence_

_the lights are on and everybody's home…_

_The only thing suicidal here is the doors,_

_we had a good run, even I have to admit_

_life's just a pace-car on death - only less diligent…_

_Hell or glory, I don't want anything in between, _

_then came a baby bean with long eyelashes_

_and daddy said, 'you gotta show the world the thunder'_

_whoaa oh oh, the thunder…."_

Aubrey swayed back and forth on her seat to the beat, cradling the small bundle that was pressed tightly against her torso. The large ear protectors on the child's head pressed in her face when it turned its head around to look at the stage.

"Who's there on the stage, huh little bug? Daddy and your aunties and uncle making music! Daddy's singing for us," she whispered grinning, fully aware that the kid wouldn't be able to hear her wearing the protective headgear, but rather feeling the vibrations of her voice.

"You're sure Taylor's ears are safe?" Chloe asked over the music, leaning in to ruffle the few dark blonde hairs on the little head.

Stacie answered for Aubrey, "They're bulletproof Chloe; I've read several articles about it and tested them in the lab. It may look stupid but it's perfectly safe."

"Hey! Taylor doesn't look stupid!" Aubrey shouted pouting and kissed the child's cheek. "You don't look stupid sweetie, don't listen to mean Aunt Stacie."

Stacie laughed and bumped Aubrey's shoulder playfully, while Bumper leaned in. "Sure you don't, you are the cutest little bean on this planet, aren't you?" he cooed and earned a smile from Taylor after they turned around, recognizing the familiar grimacing face of Bumper.

After the song, the small group went inside the VIP box behind them and Stacie and Chloe rushed to the buffet to refill their plates with finger food. Aubrey and Benji remained at the windows, watching the concert with a now muffled sound.

"You wanna hold them, don't you? I can practically feel those parenting vibes evaporating from you," Aubrey said, already handing over the small child to Bumper while effectively removing the large ear protectors.

"Heeeyy Tay! How's it going? Do you like the big stadium? You're here with us like a grown up now, aren't you?" Bumper asked and let Taylor grip his pointer finger.

Aubrey laughed, her heart growing several sizes seeing Bumper with her child. "It's about time you get your own, otherwise you're going to spoil them to death later, I swear… How is it going with the adoption process? If you need someone to look at the paperwork again, you know you can call me!"

Bumper smiled thankfully, teetering the kid in his arms. "Yeah, well, I mean the bureaucracy is killing _me_, but I think Benji showed you everything important. I'm glad he takes care of that, I'm just better at furnishing the nursery."

"I see." She smiled. "Well remember, it really isn't an effort at all. I mean the Trebles contract is in the bag and I have enough time before I go back to the office."

"Thank you, we might take you up on that. But first of all, I have a very important question for _you_, little bean." He looked at Taylor. "Would you prefer green or yellow paint for your soon-to-be-bestie?"

Taylor looked at him with wide eyes and put their hand in Bumper's face, giggling.

"Huh, I guess that means _I don't care Uncle Bum, fucking choose yourself!_"

"Bumper!"

"What? It's not as if they understand it yet…"

.

**About 5 years later**

"…_I don't want anything in between, then came a baby bean with long eyelashes and daddy said you gotta show the world the thunder…"_

"TUNDER!"

Benji chuckled and kissed Spencer's cheek as he lifted them out of the baby seat in the car. "Yes chipmunk, thunder! _Whoohoooo, the thunder…_"

"Uuuhh, tunder!" the kid answered Benji's singing; shouting the last word across the parking lot.

"Keep this up and you'll soon replace me as background singer, won't you?"

"Singer?" Spencer seemed to think about the word for a few seconds. "Papa singer," they stated and pointed at Benji's nose with the whole hand.

"Right munk, I do! You're so smart, aren't you?"

"Mart! Dad singer too?" the kid asked, waving with a big lollipop looking rattle.

"Sometimes, u-huh! Dad sings you lullabies sometimes. And now we're going to pick dad up from work and then we'll get something for dinner together, what do you say?" Benji took Spencer in his arms and pointed to the building in front of them, while he walked up to the secondary entrance to avoid having to use the main entrance. "Dad waits for us in there! Do you know where we're going?"

Spencer shook their head no.

"This is a hospital. Hos-pi-tal… When people are sick, they come here and get well again!"

"Dad sick?" Spencer's eyes widened, apparently at the thought of one of their dads not feeling well.

Benji laughed but recovered quickly when he saw that his child was seriously worried. "No, Dad's not sick. I'm sorry chipmunk, I didn't want to scare you. No, Dad _takes care_ of sick people. He makes them feel better again!"

Spencer raised an eyebrow skeptically, which made it harder for Benji to keep his serious façade. "M'by kisses and cuddles?"

"No Spence, other people get medicine. Only you and I get treated with Dad's kisses and cuddles!"

That seemed to be reasonable enough for the kid and it closed its mouth, nodding thoughtfully. Benji grinned secretly and walked through the corridors, Spencer on his right hip. He entered the respective ward and greeted two of Bumper's colleagues who emerged at the same time.

Spencer pressed their face in Benji's body, shying away from the strangers, which made his father patting their back protectively. "Don't worry, we'll be home soon again." He arrived at the nurses' lounge and knocked at the door that was slightly ajar, before pushing it further open. "Hello? Anyone there? Hey Spence, why don't you call dad?"

"Daaaad!" Spencer shouted into the room and a moment later, Bumper opened the door, accompanied by a soft _aaaww_ from his colleague sitting on a couch.

"Is this my favorite little person picking me up from work?" he greeted Spencer, smiling brightly when he took them from Benji's arm. "It's so good to see you little one, how are you doing? Did you bring papa, too? That's so nice of you!"

The child giggled as Bumper blew raspberries on their cheek before he kissed Benji hello. "Hey handsome! I'm almost done, I just have to stop by Fuentes' office, earlier she said she'd have a proposal for me."

Benji furrowed his brows. "Oh, okay; did something happen, or…?"

"No, actually she sounded pretty relaxed." Bumper shrugged and gave the kid back to Benji. "It won't take long."

"Daddy home, dinner," Spencer stated indignantly when they sensed Bumper was going to leave again.

"Don't worry chipmunk, I'll be back soon and then we go home okay?" Bumper smiled at the little sigh that escaped the child and left the break room after a little tap on Spencer's nose. Benji watched Spencer looking after Bumper before he turned to the couches and pressed his lips to the temple of his child.

"Dad just needs to talk to his boss for a bit and then we'll go home. You're in the mood for potatoes, carrots and fennel?"

Spencer processed the words and grinned when they understood the meaning of them. "Yes!"

"Yeah, I know, you're always in the mood for food, right?"

When Bumper came back, he had already changed and wore his street clothes instead of his scrubs. He found Benji and Spencer in the break room, talking to his co-worker Denise.

"…have to meet Lilly some time then, she's an absolutely lunatic when it comes to bikes. I'm sure you'd get along perfectly!" He turned around at the sound of the door and his face fell. "Oh, hey babe, are you alright? You look like a ghost actually…"

Bumper sat down next to Benji and Spencer and turned to Denise. "Hey, could you maybe give us a minute?"

"Of course, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Ben, bye Spencer!" She waved in a big gesture and smiled affectionately when the kid waved shyly in return. Benji waited for the door to close after Denise before he talked again.

"Is everything okay?"

"Dad sick?" Spencer asked, reaching for Bumper's face to pet him.

Bumper swallowed and shook his head. "No I'm fine, everything's fine." He exhaled. "I just… uh, actually I think I've just been offered the ward managing position. Flo's going to climb the ladder as well and she wants me to be the next in line."

Benji's face widened in surprise. "Oh my god! That is so awesome!"

"That means no more shiftwork and no work on weekends and higher salary… I mean I'll have more responsibilities, too, but…" Bumper stared into space while he listed up the new benefits and a small smile formed on his face. "We can have family time every weekend and don't have to worry about a babysitter when you're going on tour next year…"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there, but yes, it definitely makes things easier," Benji agreed with a bright smile. "I'm so proud of you, you know that?"

"Thank you," Bumper replied and kissed him gently. "I'm so lucky to have you… both of you of course." He leaned his head against Spencer's and fondled their dark hair. "Hey Spencer, wanna go home and get some food?"

"Loooooveee food! Tatoes!"

"You're always hungry, aren't you chipmunk?"

Benji scrunched his face, nodding at Bumper. "Yeah, we had a similar situation earlier. They're going to be a hole without a bottom in their teens, I can sense it."

"Then we have to make sure to drop them off at Jesse's and Aubrey's often enough, let them take care of the two little monsters then." Bumper stated with a wink and took Spencer again when they got up to drive home.

.

**About 6 years later**

"What if she says no?"

"She won't say no, Stace."

"What if?"

"It's not going to happen!"

"Oh my god, it's too soon." Stacie whispered and gasped. "She's too young; she'll regret not having played the field long enough before committing; I'm going to cancel this, blow out the candles, everyone! Guys, you can all go home and-"

_slap_

"You hit me!" Stacie shouted and held her cheek.

"Yes, I did, because you're being hysterical!" Chloe answered with a pointy look on her face.

Behind her, Beca took a step out of the bushes in the garden where she and the others hid. "Hey babe? I'm sure it brings ill luck at least in _some_ culture to hit someone who's about to propose."

"I remember _someone_ hitting _me_ before I asked you," Chloe answered, smirking.

"Uh, okay? Should I be worried-" Beca started, but got pulled back by Jesse. "Do them let their thing, Bec!"

Chloe turned to Stacie again. "Consider us even and pull yourself together!" When she saw the devastating look on Stacie's face, she sighed and continued with a soothing voice, not wanting to make things worse. "Hey… Emily loves you." She hugged the woman in front of her tightly. "Be honest; do you want us to leave so you can have your privacy? We'd all understand."

Stacie hugged back and buried her face in Chloe's neck. She shook her head no and exhaled. "No, stay. I need my family around to do this."

"You got this, believe me."

Behind them, Lilly stuck her head out of the bushes. "She's coming."

Stacie and Chloe looked at each other confused, but a few seconds later a door slammed shut and Emily's voice chimed up from inside the house. "Stacie, I'm back! Where are you?"

Stacie got nervous. "Okay, come on, go go _go!_" she whispered and pushed Chloe into the plants where the others hid, ran to the garden table and grabbed the box on it.

"I'm outside, Em!"

While she waited for her girlfriend to step outside, she heard brabbling behind her, apparently Bumper shushing little Spencer, who started getting restless in their hideout.

"Guys, I need you to be quie-eeeyy baby! Glad to see you're home!" Stacie managed to save herself and smiled brightly when Emily appeared in the doorway. The younger one tilted her head looking around but saw nothing apart from Stacie standing plainly in their garden, her arms behind her back.

"Err, yes? What's going on? Anything happened while I was away for like 10 minutes to get those chips you wanted?" She looked down on the path leading to the back of the garden, on each side of which stood several tealights, illuminating it like a runway in the approaching night. "Babe what's with the candles?"

"Em, I need you to shut up now."

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry." Stacie cringed and coughed. "Em, I'm really nervous and I prepared this whole speech about how much I love you and how you managed to turn my life upside down, made me accept myself and my flaws. I think there was something in it about how much it means to me waking up to you every day, well, at least most of the days when you're not out there performing for thousands of people-"

Out of the bushes they could hear a small harrumph, which made Emily looking past Stacie with a raised eyebrow.

"-anyways, maybe I should have written it down, now that I think about it." She caught her breath, forcing herself to calm down. "Okay. So, I know you're still young; _we_ are still young but… Emily you make me a better person and exceedingly happy every day and I can't imagine not being yours forever anymore. Will you let me be… your player two?"

Stacie opened the box, which held a small replica of a SNES controller in it. Around the cable coming out of it sat a golden ring, holding a small diamond.

Emily's jaw fell down. She looked at the box, at Stacie and at the box again.

"You're… proposing?"

"Well, yes Em." Stacie chuckled nervously.

"_You can't tell me she didn't know where this was going?!" _Aubrey whispered confused to Benji behind the leaves of a great plant. He was concentrating on holding up a digital camera to record the proposal and just turned his face and glared at Aubrey in return, effectively shutting her up.

Seconds in silence flew by.

"I guess this would be the part where you answer?" Stacie stated when Emily still looked at the box.

"Oh, right! God, I'm sorry Stace, of course I'll marry you!"

"You do?"

"Yes, of course silly!" Emily shouted and ran up to Stacie, hugging her tightly. "You're so cute, oh my god look at this tiny thing!" She grabbed the mini controller and held the cable so Stacie could remove the ring and put it on her finger.

"For the record, I meant the controller, not the diamond." Emily added and kissed Stacie deeply. Behind the two of them, the rest of the group emerged from their hide-out and applauded, Taylor and Spencer shrieking happily.

* * *

CR was tapping an IPA as the door to Jeffrey's opened and four figures entered the room. They finished tapping and put the full glass on a tray already holding other drinks.

"Hey, we're having a private party tonight. Sorry, can't let you in."

The patrons stopped a second before turning on their heels, leaving the pub disappointed.

"…could've just looked at the sign at the door, smarty-pants…" CR muttered and took the tray off the counter. They went further into the bar and approached the table where the initiators of the private event were seated.

"CR, you wonderful human being!" Fat Amy stood up and raised both arms as if they hadn't seen each other a few minutes ago.

"You know you're the only person who calls me that?" CR answered and put the tray on the table. "You can drop the charade; I know it's all about the booze for you."

"But it doesn't hurt to hear it from time to time?" Fat Amy answered.

"…and she's right! You getting our drinks just reinforces your characteristics as a wonderful human being! And what are you doing standing there, come have a seat!" Jesse agreed, lifting his glass from the tray.

"I've a feeling you're in speech mode already. You didn't have a little warm up while watching the kids have you, baby?" Aubrey asked Jesse playfully, but made eye contact with Beca and Bumper nonetheless.

Beca scoffed. "Please, they were disgustingly cute with them as always. If anyone should have been drinking, it would've been me," she stated and lifted her coke in a _cheers_ gesture, but her staged eyeroll was recognized by Chloe anyway. She got slapped on her shoulder.

CR chuckled while they took a seat on the large table. "Where are the little munchkins anyway?"

"My parents watch them. They don't get to see them that often and volunteered." Emily replied happily. "We all stay for the weekend while they spoil them rotten."

"Yeah funny, 'cause _you_ don't have to deal with the consequences. I'm already scared of Sunday evening." Benji gave Bumper a desperate look. "You remember last time? I think the sugar high didn't went down until three days later…"

Bumper took Benji's hand and squeezed it. "It won't be that bad, I think. I had a talk with Erik and they'll try to reduce the candy intake from now on. It was Christmas after all and they wanted them to get the whole experience!"

"Well, that doesn't justify the need to put candy canes into _every_ meal they had; I mean when we-"

"Okay guys, can we maybe _not_ talk about the kids for two seconds?" Chloe interrupted Aubrey, who looked as if she was ready to share her detailed knowledge about appropriate child nutrition with the whole table. "You all know I _love_ those two endlessly, but we're here so _you four_," she pointed at the two couples with children, "can have some grown up time and to celebrate Stacie's new job!"

Stacie tossed a small _whohoo_ in and sipped at her wine.

"… and to finally be in the pub again where it all started?" Beca asked with a small voice.

"…and to have a drink at Jeffrey's again; yes you dork." Chloe added, pushed against Beca's snapback, and kissed her cheek.

"Have you ever been to the secret dungeon below the building?" Lilly asked into the round.

"You mean like a Dungeons & Dragons one or like a secret sex dungeon?" Chad asked back from his seat in the corner, but Lilly just answered by moving her eyes from left to right.

Amy looked at her suspiciously. "Yeah you know, I really don't get what you mean by that, does any of you guys…?"

She was met with shaking heads.

After an awkward silence, Chloe raised her glass. "To Stacie being the new head scientist at Bioconsults!"

"To my lovely wife!" Emily shouted and touched glasses with Stacie.

"To Stacie!" the others chimed in.

"… and to the Treblemakers, saving rock and roll!" Jesse added after everyone took a sip from their drink.

"Dude! We should totally name an album _that_!"


End file.
